ASEAN leader: RCEP to offer boost to post-pandemic economic recovery
Jakarta (VNA) – ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi has
hailed regional member states for approving the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP), saying that the implementation
of the agreement will provide a tremendous boost to post-COVID-19 economic
recovery efforts.
As
of November 2, the ASEAN Secretariat had received instruments of
ratification/acceptance (IOR/A) from six ASEAN member states, including Brunei,
Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as from four
non-ASEAN signatory states, namely China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
As
provided by the agreement, the RCEP will enter into force 60 days after the
date at which the minimum number of IOR/A is achieved. This means that the deal
shall enter into force on January 1, 2022.
“The
expeditious ratification process by signatory states is a true reflection of
our strong commitment to a fair and open multilateral trading system for the
benefit of the people in the region and the world”, said Lim Jock Hoi
on November 2.
The ASEAN Secretariat said preparatory
work for the entry into force of RCEP will continue, thus laying a solid ground
for the full and effective implementation of the deal through finalisation of its
technical and institutional aspects.
Signed
on November 15, 2020, the RCEP comprises 10 ASEAN member states together with
Australia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand. It is the
world's largest free trade agreement covering about 30 percent of the world's
population and 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.
With
the removal of tariff on 91 percent of goods and standardisation of regulations
on investment, intellectual property and e-commerce, the deal is expected to
improve the efficiency of supply chains in the region./.