Trade ministers of South Korea and Canada have agreed to work toward early conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement, citing what they called “significant progress” made at the latest round of talks, the Korean government said Wednesday.

“Minister Yoon Sang-jick and Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast noted that there had been significant progress in negotiations for the Korea-Canada FTA,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

The Yoon-Fast meeting was held earlier in the day in Bali, Indonesia, where the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization has been underway since Tuesday.

South Korea and Canada resumed their FTA negotiations last week after over five years of pause since the latest round held in March 2008 hit a deadlock, largely over the level of market liberalization and access for the countries‘ products.

In Wednesday’s meeting, the two ministers agreed to “work together for the conclusion of FTA negotiations at the earliest date possible,” the ministry said in a press release.

The two also discussed Seoul‘s possible joining of ongoing negotiations for a U.S.-led regional trade pact, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (Yonhap News)