RCEP is almost concluded, to be signed by end of Asean summit - Azmin

 

Senior Minister and International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali has reaffirmed that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is almost concluded and expected to be signed at the end of the Asean Summit this Sunday.

Asean Economic ministers met today for the 19th Asean Economic Community (AEC) Council Meeting as part of the virtual 37th Asean Summit.

“We are concluding and hopefully signing the RCEP towards the end of this summit on Sunday,” he told reporters after the end of today’s meeting here, today.

Mohamed Azmin said the discussions and consultation on the RCEP had been ongoing for the last ten years.

“According to the (RCEP discussion) team, they have put so much effort to get a consensus among the Asean member states and also our dialogue partners,” he said.

“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God) I must acknowledge that our team, together with the support of the member states of Asean and our dialogue partners have been working tirelessly to ensure that we should reach a consensus at this summit, and this is a positive development.

“The RCEP free trade agreement (FTA) would benefit Malaysia and we want to see how Malaysia can ride on this agreement...this is going to be the largest FTA that we have ever signed,” he said.

Azmin said Malaysia currently has Asean +1 FTA agreement with China, as well as agreements with Japan, South Korea and many other dialogue partners.

However, the intention of having RCEP, he said, was to amalgamate and streamline all these FTAs into one platform and agreement that would facilitate the investors and also traders that are coming into Malaysia as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

“So, certainly that would help the investors to have bigger market access and we would be able to facilitate the investments among the members of RCEP.”

On the withdrawal of India's participation in RCEP, Azmin said Malaysia, as well as Asean member states and dialogue partners, would continue to engage with India as the republic is a very important trading partner not only to Malaysia but also to Asean.

“Once India decides to join or to continue with the discussions, we would certainly welcome its participation but for now we have reached a consensus with or without India...we will continue with the signing of RCEP,” he added.

Meanwhile, in today’s event, Azmin led the Malaysian delegation to discuss tangible solutions and the way forward to support the recovery of economies in the region by keeping markets open for trade and investment.

The proposed Asean Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and its implementation plan was approved by the Ministers and will be submitted for Asean leaders’ endorsement on Nov 12, 2020.

“This will serve as a guide to Asean to provide sustainable solutions for economic recovery,” said Azmin, adding the ACRF would help Malaysia to intensify the intra-Asean trade and investment as well as accelerate the region’s digital transformation to boost the economy and improve societal well-being, post-Covid-19.

The meeting also discussed the Preliminary Report of the Mid-Term Review of the AEC Blueprint 2025 as presented by the Asean Secretariat and endorsed the 12 preliminary recommendations for implementation.

Matters related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and digital technology were also discussed.

“Malaysia is confident that the consolidated strategy will be able to provide a strategic framework for Asean's work on the 4IR by setting the agenda and direction for the coming years,” he said.

On the Asean e-commerce agreement, Azmin stressed that its implementation would bring systemic improvement and enhancement to the digital economy ecosystem as well as corroborative facilitation to the Asean cross-border goods and services trade.

Immediately after the meeting, Asean economic ministers signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Implementation of Non-Tariff Measures on Essential Goods under the Hanoi Plan of Action on Strengthening Asean Economic Cooperation and Supply Chain Connectivity in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Azmin represented Malaysia in signing the MoU, which comprises 152 identified essential goods in the categories of food, medicines and medical appliances/devices, personal protective equipment, and disinfectants.

“The MoU will ease the movement of these essential goods within the Asean region to ensure an unobstructed supply chain within the region,” he said.

The evening ended with the bilateral meeting between Asean Economic ministers and Switzerland Trade Minister Guy Parmelin in an open-ended dialogue.

Besides exchanging views on the current regional and global economic developments, the ministers also discussed ways and means to strengthen potential priority areas of economic cooperation between Asean and Switzerland, including Covid-19 response and economic recovery efforts, digital economy, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) development, tourism and connectivity.

Malaysia has expressed interest in the implementation of economic cooperation with Switzerland, particularly in the areas of cybersecurity, MSME development, and addressing the challenges of the 4IR.

In this regard, Azmin said that the recently established National 4IR and Digital Council will provide policy leadership on 4IR and digitalisation, as well as accelerate the growth of the economy.

“With regard to bilateral relations with Switzerland, Malaysia would also like to see enhancement of trade and investment relations in the near future,” he said.

- Bernama