(VOVWORLD) - Economic ministers from countries participating in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement met online Wednesday to prepare for the 37th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, to be hosted by Vietnam from Thursday to Sunday.
 Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung speaks at a press conference on the 37th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings (Photo: congthuong.vn) |
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, head of Vietnam's ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) delegation, said RCEP negotiations have been finalized and countries expect to sign the deal on Sunday.
“RCEP negotiations took years. The deal is of extra importance now with the COVID-19 pandemic taking a heavy toll on the global economy. RCEP, once in effect, will leverage regional trade development. All countries, especially Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair for 2020, are looking forward to its signing,” according to Dung.
RCEP will promote trade multilateralism and liberalization, increase investment, and speed up post-pandemic recovery.
RCEP involves the ten ASEAN members and their five FTA partners: China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. RCEP will create a market of more than 3.5 billion consumers and a combined GDP of 49 trillion USD, 39% of the total global GDP.