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Asean-Hong Kong FTA set to be finalised

The Nation | 30 May 2016

Asean-Hong Kong FTA set to be finalised

by Petchanet Pratruangkrai

ASEAN AND Hong Kong are set to wrap up their free-trade agreement negotiations this year, with the aim of promoting trade, services and investment between the two sides.

Ronnarong Phoolpipat, deputy director-general to the Trade Negotiations Department, is leading the Thai negotiation team and co-chairing the seventh Asean-Hong Kong Trade Negotiating Committee and related meetings in Hong Kong that started yesterday and concludes on Thursday.

This step is crucial, as there will be only one more meeting in August.

"This round of talks should come up with many agreements including trade in goods, trade in services, investment, rules of origin and rules and laws, as Asean and Hong Kong aim to finalise the agreement within the end of this year," Ronnarong said.

Following six rounds of negotiations, both sides agreed on four areas - customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and psytosanitary, technical trade barriers, and economic and academic cooperations.

Ronnarong said that the Asean-Hong Kong FTA would create great benefits for Thailand and Asean in many ways.