ASEAN wants to expand RCEP membership

June 07, 2023 | 16:41

(0) user say

ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn has said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is striving to increase the membership of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

ASEAN wants to expand RCEP membership | ASEAN | Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus)

RCEP accounts for 32 per cent of the world’s total GDP (Photo: VNA)

Jakarta – ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn has said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is striving to increase the membership of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Speaking at the ASEAN-Japan Business Week in Tokyo on June 5, Kao said the ten-member grouping also plans to establish a unit in the ASEAN Secretariat in support of the RCEP, which accounts for 32% of the world’s total GDP.

ASEAN economic ministers are also working on procedures to allow other economies to join the agreement.

The RCEP gathers the 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Australia and New Zealand.

The deal has recently come into full effect in all the 15 member countries after it officially took effect in the Philippines on June 2.

The RCEP will eliminate up to 90% of tariffs on goods traded among the signatories within 20 years, starting from the agreement's entry into force.

Kao called the RCEP – the largest free trade agreement in the world – a crucial initiative in support of businesses, especially those from Japan. According to him, more than 14,000 Japanese companies are operating in ASEAN countries.

RCEP boosting like-minded vision among bloc members

With one-year entry into force of a regional trade deal, ASEAN is expecting to boost further investment and trade cooperation. In this landscape, Vietnam is becoming a top destination for regional partners.

RCEP creates new impetus for regional economic development

Since it entered into force in early 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has helped strongly promote integration of value and supply chains, strengthen confidence in regional economic recovery and create new impetus for trade and investment growth in the region and the world, according to an article on the Zhongguopinglun (China review) website of Hong Kong (China).