South Korea will hold talks with the UK next week after the British parliament votes Tuesday on a negotiated deal to leave the European Union(EU).

A Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said Monday that a government delegation will visit Britain for director general-level talks with the UK Foreign Office on January 23rd.

The official said the swift establishment of a South Korea-UK free trade agreement is of utmost importance. The official added that formal negotiations will be launched as soon as the UK’s withdrawal from the EU goes into effect on March 29th.

Some 100 South Korean companies are currently operating in the United Kingdom and bilateral trade reached 14-point-four billion dollars last year.

If a Brexit deal cannot be agreed upon by March 29th, tariff benefits enjoyed by South Korean firms exporting to the UK under the Korea-EU free trade agreement may evaporate.