The government has agreed with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to sign an investment deal within the year.

The agreement was reached during the latest in a series of free trade talks between the two sides that ended Friday in Baguio, the Philippines.

The two sides also agreed to apply the principle of national treatment to each others’ nationals at the local government level. Under that principle, if a state grants a particular right, benefit or privilege to its own citizens, it must also grant those advantages to the citizens of other contracting states while they are in that country.

The move would enable South Korean firms doing business in ASEAN countries to enjoy benefits granted to those countries' own firms by both central and local governments.

Trade officials also agreed to a set of temporary guidelines for agreements on trade products and services. The two sides will finalize the guidelines during a bilateral foreign ministers’ meeting set to open this May in Bali.

The next round of South Korea-ASEAN free trade talks will open in South Korea for four days starting April eighth.