Illustrative image (Source: asean.org) Hanoi (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK) will spare noefforts to help conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)by the end of this year by forging deeper ties with the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as the country strives to revitalise itsailing exports, said the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy onJanuary 7.
In line with the efforts, Yeo Han-koo, deputy minister for tradenegotiations, plans to visit the headquarters of ASEAN in Indonesia on January7 to meet the grouping’s Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi.
According to the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy,the mega trade deal will help participating countries overcome the globaluncertainties, along with the looming protectionism.
ASEAN and its dialogue partners, namely the RoK, China, Japan,Australia and New Zealand, effectively reached an agreement on RCEP in November2019, with the goal of signing the pact within this year.
The agreement came after the participating nations launched theirtalks in 2013 on a deal that would create a mega economic bloc accounting forhalf of the global population and one-third of the world's gross domesticproduct.
The participation of India, which did not join the agreement, willbe decided before the deal's formal signing slated for 2020.
The RoK’s exports reached 542.4 billion USD last year, down 10.3percent from a year earlier. It marked the first time in 10 years for theannual exports to drop by a two-digit percentage.
On the back of its efforts to diversify the export portfolio,however, Southeast Asian countries accounted for more than 20 percent of theoutbound shipments last year for the first time, rising from 19.1 percentposted in 2018./.
VNA
