Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand is lookingfor India’s support in settling talks and concluding the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of this year, according to Acting CommerceMinister Chutima Bunyapraphasara.
At the fourth India-ASEAN Expo and Summit,scheduled for New Delhi on February 22-23, Chutima Bunyapraphasara will holdtalks with Indonesian Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita, ASEANSecretary-General Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, and Indian Minister of Commerce andIndustry Suresh Prabhu to discuss Indian support to conclude the RCEP thisyear.
The discussions will focus on a backlog ofissues, including the market access package on the exchange of goods andservice items.
Other issues on the agenda are trade obstacles,the rule on origins, e-commerce, and intellectual trade competition.
The RCEP was launched in November 2012 with theaim of establishing deeper economic cooperation between the 10 members of ASEANand Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea,focusing on trade in goods, services and investment.
If signed, the agreement will create an economicbloc with a combined population of 3.5 billion and account for 30 percent ofthe global trade.-VNA
