Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore Chan Chun Sing (Photo: VNA)Singapore (VNA) – Singapore will soon ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreementwhich was signed by 15 member countries on November 15, said Minister for Tradeand Industry Chan Chun Sing.
Speaking at a press conferencefollowing the signing of the deal within the framework of the 37th ASEAN Summitand Related Summits held virtually by Vietnam from November 12-15, Chan said, toreap the benefits of the RCEP, “work remains to be done”, adding thatsignatories would need to “accelerate efforts to ratify the agreement as soonas possible”.
The minister said Singapore willratify the RCEP "definitely" within the next 12 months.And while there is no "firm timeline" for the other countries,"we expect this to be done soonest because I think all the countriesinvolved have given the commitment to expedite their domesticprocesses", he said.
Chan said the earlyimplementation of the RCEP will potentially provide further opportunities toSingapore’s trade with the 14 other signatories, which totalled 50.4 percent (515 billionSGD or 387.9 billion USD) of the country’s global trade in 2019.
“For Singapore, the RCEPprovides a strong foundation for us to rebuild our economy and overcome thechallenges as we emerge from the pandemic together,” he stressed.
The RCEP consolidates smallerexisting agreements to form the world’s largest free-trade agreement, coveringa third of the world both in terms of GDP and population.
The RCEP will come into forcewhen six ASEAN countries and three non-ASEAN countries have ratified it./.
Speaking at a press conferencefollowing the signing of the deal within the framework of the 37th ASEAN Summitand Related Summits held virtually by Vietnam from November 12-15, Chan said, toreap the benefits of the RCEP, “work remains to be done”, adding thatsignatories would need to “accelerate efforts to ratify the agreement as soonas possible”.
The minister said Singapore willratify the RCEP "definitely" within the next 12 months.And while there is no "firm timeline" for the other countries,"we expect this to be done soonest because I think all the countriesinvolved have given the commitment to expedite their domesticprocesses", he said.
Chan said the earlyimplementation of the RCEP will potentially provide further opportunities toSingapore’s trade with the 14 other signatories, which totalled 50.4 percent (515 billionSGD or 387.9 billion USD) of the country’s global trade in 2019.
“For Singapore, the RCEPprovides a strong foundation for us to rebuild our economy and overcome thechallenges as we emerge from the pandemic together,” he stressed.
The RCEP consolidates smallerexisting agreements to form the world’s largest free-trade agreement, coveringa third of the world both in terms of GDP and population.
The RCEP will come into forcewhen six ASEAN countries and three non-ASEAN countries have ratified it./.
VNA
