Cooperation agreement with KOIMA to encourage trade with Russia

SEOUL, February 25 (Itar-Tass) -- A cooperation agreement signed
between the Russian trade mission in South Korea and the Korea Importers
Association (KOIMA) will make it possible "to boost trade between the two
countries," KOIMA Chairman Lee Ju-tae told Itar-Tass after the signing
ceremony.
"Russia is one of the most dynamically developing countries in the
areas of trade and others. The Korea Importers Association believes that
in the nearest future Russia will become one of our key partners, and that
is why we found it necessary to sign a memorandum of intent with our
Russian partner," he said.
Touching on a possible agreement on free trade between Moscow and
Seoul, Lee Ju-tae said such an agreement should be preceded by Russia's
joining the World Trade Organization. And in case Russia and South Korea
reach such an agreement, the two countries will have much better
possibilities for broader trade cooperation, he stressed.
He also said KOIMA is ready to do its best to support Russia's bid for
WTO membership and promote a free trade agreement between the two
countries.
According to earlier reports, Russia's trade mission in South Korea
and the Korea Importers Association on Friday signed a cooperation
agreement.
"For the first time in the 20-years' history of Russian-South Korean
relations and for the first time in the history of the Russian trade
mission here, we are signing such an agreement with one of the biggest
organizations in South Korea," Mikhail Bondarenko, the head of the Russian
trade mission, told Itar-Tass after the signing ceremony.
"Our plans for this year include representations of two [Russian]
regions in the Republic of Korea. We have also agreed to send two business
missions from the Korea Importers Association to these two regions," he
said.
According to Bondarenko, the Russian trade mission is planning to sign
similar agreements with other South Korea's big organizations engaged in
foreign economic activities. "In all, we plan to hold presentations of
eight regions during this year. As for the first two Russian regions I
spoke about earlier, one of them will be the republic of Buryatia, and we
also plan to present the possibilities of the Sverdlovsk region," he noted.