Leaders at the third Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Leaders of 16 Asia-Pacificcountries, including Japan, China, and India, on November 4 issued a jointstatement on the postponing of the signing of the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) to 2020 instead of 2019 as scheduled.
The statement, announced following a meeting of the 16countries’ leaders in Bangkok the same day, said that the leaders committed toinking the mega deal in 2020. It is likely that they will continue to negotiateon the agreement.
“We noted 15 RCEP participating countries have concludedtext-based negotiations for all 20 chapters and essentially all their marketaccess issues; and tasked legal scrubbing by them to commence for signing in2020,” said the statement.
“India has significant outstanding issues, which remainunresolved. All RCEP participating countries will work together to resolvethese outstanding issues in a mutually satisfactory way. India’s final decisionwill depend on satisfactory resolution of these issues,” it added.
“Present form of the RCEPAgreement does not fully reflect the basic spirit and agreed guiding principlesof RCEP,” Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi was quoted saying by Indian publicbroadcaster PrasarBharati News Services. “It does not address satisfactorilyIndia’s outstanding issues and concerns,” he stated.
RCEP, launched in 2012, includes the 10 ASEAN members, as well as China,the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Once signed, the deal will create the largestfree trade area in the world with about 3.5 billionpeople and making up 30 percent of the global GDP./.
VNA
