SINGAPORE, Jan 13: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Singaporean counterpart Goh Chok Tong on Sunday signed a free trade agreement (FTA), the first ever for the world’s second biggest economy.

Their signing came after the two leaders finished talks in Singapore, on the final leg of Koizumi’s week-long Southeast Asian swing that also included the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

The accord “will strengthen economic activity links and promote freer transnational moves of goods, people, services, capital and information between the two countries,” a statement said.

“It will aim at comprehensive economic cooperation between the two countries, covering not only trade and investment but also finance, information technology and human resource development,” the statement said.

Koizumi and Goh first announced a deal to launch the FTA in October last year on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shanghai.

The accord, formally called the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership (JSEPA), was the first FTA for Japan, which had previously favoured multilateral pacts in bodies such as the World Trade Organization.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, both leaders said the FTA was a step forward for the region and Japan.

Goh said the FTA will benefit neighbouring countries and boost Japan’s efforts to forge closer a closer economic relationship with Southeast Asia.—AFP