On 11 August 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd met with Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul. The two leaders agreed to the commencement of preparatory talks between officials on an Australia-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA). A first round of preparatory talks was held in October in Seoul, and a second round is scheduled for coming months.
An FTA with the Republic of Korea will complement our bilateral FTAs with ASEAN, the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand, as well as our FTA under negotiation with Malaysia. It will also contribute to the strength of Australia’s engagement with the Asia-Pacific region – Australia’s most important and dynamic marketplace of education and training.
DEEWR and DFAT are working in partnership on the education services aspects of the FTA negotiations. We are seeking information from providers of education and training services to the Republic of Korea, including potential providers, whether these services are supplied to students here in Australia, or within the Republic of Korea. The invitation to provide information extends to individuals, institutions and representative bodies.
DEEWR and DFAT are seeking specific and detailed information, including concrete examples on the issues and challenges encountered in providing education services to the Republic of Korea to assist us in developing the Government’s negotiating position.
Submissions need not be lengthy and may build upon submissions made or issues identified during the joint non-government study on a bilateral FTA (see http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/rok/fta/report.html ). For example, an e-mail outlining barriers providers face in providing education services to the Republic of Korea would suffice, but longer papers would also be welcome. DEEWR and the Korea FTA Task Force at DFAT are currently accepting submissions. Submissions can be sent to the Korea FTA Taskforce, DFAT at KoreaFTA@dfat.gov.au.
Submissions are due by Friday 30 January 2009. All submissions will be made publicly available on the DFAT website unless the author specifies otherwise.
Further information on the FTA can be found at http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/rok/fta/index.html.
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Contact
Claire Findlay
Department of Education, Employment and Worklplace Relations
Trade Agreements and Multilateral Unit
T: (02) 6240 9398
E: claire.findlay@deewr.gov.au