NONTHABURI, Thailand – The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is looking forward to the signing of the proposed free trade agreement with Asia-Pacific neighbors next year.
The Southeast Asian leaders have lauded the progress in the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and remained optimistic such deal would pave the way for “an open, inclusive, and rules-based global trade environment.”
The status of the 16-member RCEP, touted as the world’s largest trade deal, was discussed by the ASEAN leaders during the separate summits with China and India last Sunday. The proposed deal reportedly covers a third of the global economy and half of the world’s population.
“We also reaffirmed our support for enhanced regional economic integration. In this regard, we welcomed the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations and the commitment to sign the RCEP agreement in 2020,” this year’s ASEAN chairman Thailand said in a statement after the regional dialogue with China represented by Premier Li Keqiang last Sunday.
“Given the rising tensions and uncertainties in global trade, we firmly believe that the RCEP, once concluded, would provide a solid foundation for an open, inclusive, and rules-based global trade environment,” the chairman added.
A similar pronouncement on the RCEP signing in 2020 was echoed by the ASEAN chairman after the leaders’ dialogue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India Sunday. Leaders of the RCEP participating countries are expected to gather for a summit on Monday to tackle the progress of the RCEP negotiations. (Genalyn Kabiling)
