S’pore, Costa Rica, to ink FTA
Straits Times | Jan 12, 2010
S’pore, Costa Rica, to ink FTA
SAN JOSE — COSTA Rica and Singapore are expected to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) by the weekend, said Costa Rica’s External Commerce Ministry on Monday.
Negotiators from the two countries began their last round of FTA negotiations here on Monday, hoping to close the 10-month talks by Friday, said the ministry in a statement.
The last round of talks focuses on key issues such as market access, the rule of origin, technical barriers to trade, quarantine and intellectual property rights, it said.
Both countries have made great efforts for a free trade agreement, which would be Costa Rica’s first with an Asian country, said External Commerce Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz in the statement.
Costa Rica, one of the biggest exporters in Central America, is also engaged in FTA negotiations with China, which are expected to conclude in the first half of 2010.
