U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed the importance of swiftly ratifying the free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea on Wednesday.

Clinton said at the First Senior Officials Meeting for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Washington that the U.S.-Korea FTA represents a major achievement for both Korea and the U.S., and that it can serve as a model for the region.

She said that in the coming months, the U.S. will take concrete steps towards strengthening an open, free, transparent, and fair economic platform in the Asia Pacific by accomplishing multiple goals, one of which she said was achieving congressional approval of the Korea FTA.

She said the deal with South Korea will provide benefits that cannot be expressed in dollars, such as a closer political and strategic partnership with a key ally.

Clinton said Washington's goal is to have all three pending FTAs with Korea, Panama and Colombia, along with their outstanding issues, addressed and approved by Congress this year.