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Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi raised her voice about Indonesia’s role in the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that was signed on Sunday (11/15/2020).
In the press conference that followed the meeting, Retno said that Indonesia has a very important role in creating the world’s largest free trade zone.
He said the RCEP was an Indonesian initiative and Indonesia constantly monitored the course of the negotiations by becoming chair of several talks related to the trade deal.
“RCEP is an initiative of Indonesia when it becomes president of ASEAN and was agreed at the ASEAN leaders meeting in November 2011. The first negotiations started in March 2013 and Indonesia will act as chair of the RCPE negotiation. for RCEP to create conducive and competitive conditions for the economy in the Indo-Pacific region, “said Retno.
Not only that, he also said that Indonesia still opens opportunities for various Indo Pacific countries to join RCPE.
RCEP is a trade agreement signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries, of which 10 ASEAN member countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. RCEP is the world’s largest trade cooperation bloc, representing 30% of the world economy, 30% of the world’s population and reaching 2.2 billion consumers.
India had previously entered the RCEP negotiations. But Delhi decided to pull out in November 2016.
“Today is a historic day. Today we signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or RCEP,” President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said in a virtual address at the 4th RCEP Summit.
However, in the end, the RCEP was still able to be completed thanks to a strong commitment to multilateralism or cooperation between countries in the countries of the region. “This signing marks the strength of our commitment to multilateralism,” Jokowi said.
The achievement of the RCEP negotiations also marks the commitment of countries to the principle of multilateral trade that is open, fair and beneficial to all parties. More importantly, it provides new hope and optimism for the post-epidemic economic recovery in the region.
At the summit, RCEP countries expressed their appreciation for Indonesia’s leadership during the negotiation process. On that occasion, the Head of State also expressed his appreciation for the constructive support of many of the parties involved in these negotiations.
RCEP is a symbol of the commitment of the region’s national leaders to a win-win paradigm that prioritizes common interests. The commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the region will be an important part of the region’s commitment to centralizing ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region.
However, Jokowi actually said that the signing of this cooperation agreement was only the beginning. After that, the countries involved still have to make efforts to implement it.
“This also requires political commitment at the highest level. For Indonesia, we still open opportunities for countries in the region to join this RCEP,” Jokowi said.
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