ASEAN economic ministers hold consultations with partners
Hanoi
(VNA) - ASEAN Economic Ministers held online consultations on August 28 with external
partners - China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) - within the
framework of the 52nd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting and related
meetings.
The consultations were co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, Chinese Minister of
Commerce Zhong Shan, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshi
Kajiyama and Korean Minister of Trade Yoo Myung-hee.
Having expressed their
concern over the harmful impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of people in the region, the ministers agreed to
continue consolidating cooperation to overcome the pandemic and develop economies,
including maintaining supply chains, especially for necessities such as medical
supplies and food.
They
highlighted the need to maintain the trust of the regional business community and
focus resources on promoting socio-economic stability, in particular signing the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year.
In order
to effectively realise the ASEAN+3 joint declaration on mitigating the adverse impacts of COVID-19, adopted by ASEAN+3 ministers on June 4, the ministers pledged
to enhance cooperation to carry out the action plan and stand ready to cope
with contingencies in the region.
The ministers welcomed the progress made in the RCEP negotiations as well as moves to prepare
for its signing later this year.
They
reaffirmed the importance of bringing the RCEP into life to bolster businesses’
trust and strengthen the regional economic architecture, and expressed support
for an open multilateral trade system based on common principles./.