Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has appealed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to intensify exchanges with China to soon start pragmatic negotiations of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), making it effective and legally binding.
The chief negotiators from the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries met on July 12 to discuss how to bring the regional free trade deal into effect following the withdrawal of the United States
Indonesia and Turkey have officially started negotiations of the Indonesia-Turkey Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IT-CEPA) during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s state visit to Turkey.
The Philippine government announced that it will not participate in the fifth round of peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), which is scheduled to be held in the Netherlands later this month.
The third Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) opened in Hanoi on May 22, with the aim to speed up negotiations seeking to finalise the regional trade pact.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of National Defence, hosted a reception for Senior Vice President of the US-ASEAN Business Council Michael Michalak in Hanoi on May 17.
The Vietnamese Government will continue creating favourable conditions for foreign businesses to make investment in Vietnam and protect their intellectual property and asset rights.
Thailand will continue negotiations with the Mara Pattani movement, an insurgent group in the south, despite the May 9 bomb attacks in Pattani province which injured 69 people, according to local media.
Vietnam and the EU on May 11 concluded six years of negotiations for a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).
Philippine Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez on May 8 urged negotiators of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to speed up talks, reaffirming the need to conclude the free trade deal this year.
Indonesia and Chile have resumed negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) after two-year delay, reported Indonesian newspaper Jakarta Post.
The EU and the ASEAN announced on March 10 that they will strive to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two blocs, as European countries look to tap the region's strong growth.
Senior officials from 16 Asia-Pacific countries met in Kobe, Japan on February 27 for the next round of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership is likely to help the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership wrap up faster than expected, said Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak
The Japanese Government plans to form a new cross-ministry unit to handle all free trade negotiations following the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, reported Kyodo News on Jan. 25.
Negotiators of the Philippine Government and the rebel group New People’s Army (NPA) have resumes peace talks in Rome, Italy, on January 19, with Norway as the mediator.
ASEAN
