The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact, once realised, will create the world’s biggest free trade zone and serve as a new booster for regional development, Cambodian officials and experts have said.
The RCEP, initiated by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) in 2012, is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 member states of Asean, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and their six Asean-FTA partners — China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.
During the 36th Asean Summit, held via video conference last month, Asean leaders welcomed the progress made for the full conclusion of the negotiations of the RCEP and looked forward to the signing of the deal by the end of 2020.
