Costa Rica, China
Begin Free Trade Talks
Costa Rica and China
began on Monday the
first round of
negotiations for the
Free Trade Agreement (FTA),
said the Costa Rican
Foreign Ministry.
The two sides expect to
set the "roadmap" for
the free trade talks in
the first round of
negotiations, including
the layout for the
agreement and steps to
be taken for its
realization.
A total of six rounds of
talks will be held on
the agreement, and Costa
Rica hopes all the
negotiations will wrap
up by May 2010,said
Marco Vinicio Ruiz,
Costa Rican Trade
Minister.
China and Costa Rica
agreed to launch talks
for a free trade
agreement during Chinese
President Hu Jintao's
visit to the central
American country in
November 2008.
China is Costa Rica's
second largest trading
partner, and Costa Rica
China's second biggest
in central America.
Their two-way trade is
growing rapidly, with
the volume hitting 2.87
billion U.S. dollars in
2007.
Among Latin American
countries, China has
signed a free trade
agreement with Chile and
is holding negotiations
on such a deal with
Peru.
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