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KUALA LUMPUR: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement was finally signed today after going through 31 rounds of negotiations over the past eight years.
The signing of the largest free trade agreement (FTA) in the world represents an important and imperative milestone in the integration and revitalization of the economies of the 15 participating countries.
Industry and International Trade Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said the agreement is a testament to the strengthening of the multilateral trading system, while maintaining the development agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“The RCEP will promote, facilitate and protect the investment climate of the participating countries within the region.
“This includes the exchange of information and the promotion of transparency measures to facilitate business and investment within the RCEP area,” Azmin told reporters after signing here.
The RCEP covers 15 countries with a combined population of 2.2 billion, or nearly 29.7% of the world’s population, and represents 28.9% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2018 data from the World Bank.
RCEP amalgamates and streamlines the existing Asean + 1 FTAs, which include Japan, South Korea, China, Australia and New Zealand, into one comprehensive and inclusive agreement.
