ASEAN leaders support the negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to be concluded within this year, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on June 23 told a press conference at the conclusion of the 34th ASEAN Summit held in Bangkok.
ASEAN leaders
shake hands on stage during the opening ceremony of the 34th ASEAN Summit at
the Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand June 23, 2019.
The RCEP will help
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) manage change and
uncertainty in the region, especially as regards to the trade friction between
"ASEAN's important trading partners".
He also described
the RCEP as a tool to boost trade and economy in the region.
In the Chairman's
Statement of the 34th ASEAN Summit released on June 23, ASEAN leaders said they
"reiterated our strong commitment to concluding the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations within 2019 to reinvigorate
international trade and to maintain ASEAN credibility and centrality."
They also urged
the RCEP ministers and officials to redouble their efforts to reach this target
and called for relevant ASEAN partners to prioritize the RCEP negotiations and
to work with ASEAN to conclude the RCEP negotiations within this year.
The RCEP, a
proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 ASEAN member states and six
of their FTA partners, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia,
New Zealand and India, is expected to be one of the world's largest trading
blocs, accounting for 45 percent of the world population, 40 percent of global
trade and around one third of the world's GDP. The talks on the RCEP was
launched in 2012.
As Thailand being Chair of ASEAN for 2019, the 34th
ASEAN Summit was held in Bangkok
from June 22-23. Besides the plenary sessions and the retreat of the summit,
the Special ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting on the RCEP was also held during
this summit.
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