Delegates to the Preparatory RCEP Ministerial Meeting in Nontha Buri, Thailand, on November 1, 2019 (Source: VNA)Vientiane (VNA) – The completion and early signing of the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) is very important to the process of economicrecovery in the region, said a member of the Lao negotiation team to the RCEPtalks.
SantisoukPhounesavath, deputy head of the Foreign Trade Policy Department under Laos’Ministry of Industry and Trade, told the Vietnam News Agency that due to thedifferent levels of development in RCEP participating countries, the talks haveencountered many difficulties. However, most of them have been settled and veryfew remain after eight years of negotiations, he said, adding that hepersonally believes the deal can be signed at the end of this year.
Accordingto the official, the signing of the RCEP will be a sign showing that the deal’smembers support the multilateral trade system, so it is important to acceleratethe work to quickly complete and sign the deal.
Oncesigned, the RCEP will become the world’s biggest trade agreement, thus creatingopportunities and markets for Laos, helping the country participate deeper in regionalsupply chains, he said.
TheRCEP is a free trade agreement in the Indo-Pacific region between the 10 memberstates of the ASEAN and its five FTApartners (Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea). India initially participatedin the talks, but it withdrew in November 2019. The 15 negotiating partiesaccount for 30 percent of the world's population and just under 30 percent ofthe world's GDP.
RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012./.
