MTI Internship: AKFTA 2.0: Ready for Comeback Season

ASEAN Division - AKFTA 2.0: Ready for Comeback Season

ASEAN and the Republic of Korea (ROK) share deep and growing economic relations, with ROK ranking as ASEAN’s fifth-largest merchandise trading partner and sixth-largest source of FDI among its Dialogue Partners. The ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA), which has not been upgraded since its entry into force in 2009, is set for a major upgrade in 2026 to ensure it better supports modern business needs, facilitates trade, and remains forward-looking amid evolving regional and global dynamics. Singapore, as ASEAN Co-Chair of the AKFTA Upgrade, will play a key role in steering this process. This project will provide you with the opportunity to contribute to Singapore's leadership in the AKFTA Upgrade by providing recommendations on potential enhancements to the AKFTA in areas such as Non-Tariff Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Digital Economy, Supply Chain Connectivity, as well as Energy and Raw and Intermediate Materials. This will be achieved through analysis of Free Trade Agreements, such as those entered into by Korea and ASEAN Member States as well as more recent Agreements. You will also be supporting business outreach, policy formulation, organisation of negotiation rounds, developing meeting approaches, and producing reports for Ministers.

• Applicants should be in their penultimate year of undergraduate studies and have a strong interest in global trade, international relations, policy work and more importantly, ASEAN. • Applicants should be meticulous, and possess good research, critical thinking and writing skills. It will be a bonus if applicants are inquisitive and willing to undertake new technical disciplines/tasks on the job. • Prior internship experience in a related field is not necessary, but a plus.