Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from left, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the ASEAN leaders summit in Bangkok, Thailand, June 23, 2019. (GEMUNU AMARASINGHE / AP)
BANGKOK - ASEAN leaders support the negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to be concluded this year, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Sunday said at a press conference of the 34th ASEAN Summit held in Bangkok.
The RCEP will help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) manage change and uncertainty in the region, especially in regards to trade tensions between "ASEAN's important trading partners".
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He also described the RCEP as a tool to boost trade and economy.
In the Chairman's Statement of the 34th ASEAN Summit released on Sunday, ASEAN leaders said they "reiterated our strong commitment to concluding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations within 2019 to reinvigorate international trade and to maintain ASEAN credibility and centrality."
They also urged the RCEP ministers and officials to redouble their efforts to reach this target and called for relevant ASEAN partners to prioritize the RCEP negotiations, and to work with ASEAN to conclude the RCEP negotiations within this year.
The RCEP, a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 ASEAN member states and six of their FTA partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, is expected to be one of the world's largest trading blocs, accounting for 45 percent of the world population, 40 percent of global trade and around one third of the world's GDP. The talks on the RCEP was launched in 2012.
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As Thailand being Chair of ASEAN for 2019, the 34th ASEAN Summit was held in Bangkok from Saturday to Sunday. Besides the plenary sessions and the summit retreat, the Special ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting on the RCEP was also held during this summit.
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