U.S. President Barack Obama has welcomed the deal with South Korea to revise a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that was concluded in 2007 but has yet to be ratified.

Obama said in a statement Friday that he was very pleased that the two countries had reached a compromise to revise the landmark trade deal.

Obama said that he looks forward to working with Congress and leaders in both parties to get the revised trade deal ratified.

He expected the trade pact will deepen the strong alliance between the U.S. and South Korea.

Obama said the deal is an integral part of his administration’s efforts to open foreign markets to U.S. goods and services, create jobs for American workers, farmers and businesses, and achieve Washington’s goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years.

He added that the trade deal will increase annual exports of American goods by up to eleven billion U.S. dollars and will support at least 70-thousand American jobs.