Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday gave the green signal for negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, encompassing a Free Trade Agreement in goods and services, with South Korea.
This approval was given after a meeting of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee in New Delhi, media advisor to the PM, Sanjaya Baru told reporters.
The pact, on the lines of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore, will also have an agreement on investment.
TERC, which includes Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Plannning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also accepted the report of the joint study group on Indo-Korea relations.
The group was set up in January for carrying out a comprehensive study on bilateral economic linkages between the two countries. It was asked to identify constraints, barriers and impediments to closer co-operation and recommend measures for facilitating and optimising cooperation between the two countries.