Japan and South Korea agree to revive the currency exchange agreement

Japan and South Korea agreed on Thursday to revive a $10 billion currency swap pact, building on an improvement in two-way ties to bolster a regional financial safety net amid heightened geopolitical risks.

The swap agreement was first agreed in 2001 as a tool to help the two countries combat a financial crisis, but it was never used and expired in 2015 amid diplomatic tension.

“There is a growing need to strengthen bilateral ties as global and regional economies face uncertainties and risks,” Masato Kanda, Japan’s vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters.

He added that the currency swap agreement comes within the framework of the two countries’ ambition to support cooperation between them.

At its peak in 2011, the barter deal was worth $70 billion.

The conclusion of the deal, which was revived at a meeting in Tokyo between Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and his South Korean counterpart Cho Kyung-ho, was the first dialogue between the two countries’ finance ministers in seven years.