More FTAs Planned
By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
The incoming administration will likely expand ties with oil-producing countries and sign free trade agreements with more.
The transition committee said Wednesday that it will report 20 major state policy goals to President-elect Lee Myung-bak early next week.
They include forging energy networks with oil producers and increasing the number of FTAs with major economies worldwide, transition team sources said.
The energy network project is part of a policy commitment of Prime Minister-nominee Han Seung-soo, who pledged to focus on diplomacy aimed at securing stable energy resources and diversifying their supply.
The President-elect has also pledged to strengthen energy diplomacy and find an alternative growth engine to achieve the goal of higher economic growth of up to 7 percent per annum.
``The next government will build a network with oil-rich Middle Eastern countries and we will unveil concrete action plans in the near future,'' a transition team official said.
The transition committee also said the next administration will make efforts to clinch an FTA with the European Union, Canada, India and Mexico this year. The next administration is also poised to launch or reopen FTA talks with China and Japan.
The next government wants the provisionally-signed FTA with the United States to pass the National Assembly before the incumbent administration leaves office Feb. 25.
Also included in the 20 priority goals are securing transparency in inter-Korean cooperation funds; improving military welfare; establishing legal order; improving the fiscal soundness of provincial governments; strengthening English education at public schools; reforming the college-entrance exam system; expanding pension benefits for the elderly and creating jobs for young people and women.
Others include easing of restrictions on conglomerates' shareholding in commercial banks; the improvement of the financial system related to small businesses; and saving communication expenses.
The next government will significantly heighten transparency in the spending of inter-Korean cooperation funds, in line with Lee's vow to link economic aid to North Korea with its denuclearization.
The government has disbursed 5.18 trillion won in the fund for eventual unification, with 4.84 trillion won, or 93.5 percent, being spent during the presidency of Roh Moo-hyun and predecessor Kim Dae-jung.
A transition team official said priority policy goals have been selected from 166 policy tasks based on their urgency, difficulty and fiscal feasibility.