Regional partnership to stimulate recovery

RCEP to boost Asean, says Cambodian PM

“As chairman of Asean, Cambodia will work with RCEP countries to promote the full and effective implementation of the agreement.”

Samdech Techo Hun Sen

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen says that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement, which came into force earlier this year, will be a booster for regional and global economic recovery in the post-covid-19 pandemic.

In a video message to mark Asean Day, which was broadcast on national television of Cambodia, Hun Sen said the full and effective implementation of the RCEP agreement is a priority.

RCEP will stimulate economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, create jobs and strengthen the supply chain in the region and the world as a whole, he said.

“As chairman of Asean 2022, Cambodia will work closely with RCEP countries to promote the full and effective implementation of the agreement to further intensify the facilitation of cross-border trade movements,” he added.

The RCEP comprises 15 Asia-pacific countries, including 10 Asean member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – and their five trading partners, namely Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Being the world’s largest trade bloc, RCEP established a market of 2.2 billion people, or 30% of the world’s population with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$26.2 trillion (RM116.9 trillion), which represents around 30% of global GDP and 28% of global trade.

Thong Mengdavid, a research fellow at the Phnom Penh-based Asian Vision Institute, said RCEP offered opportunities to regional countries to defend trade liberalisation and promote economic cooperation, which are crucial to the post-covid-19 recovery.

“It is a strategic accomplishment for the Asean economic community,” he told Xinhua.

He said the RCEP enables the reduction of 90% of regional trade tariff and non-tariff barriers over the next 20 years, which greatly enhances the flow of goods and services, deepens economic linkage and increases regional competitiveness.

“The successful story of the RCEP could serve as a model and hope for cross-regional economic cooperation and connectivity in the post-covid-19 pandemic era,” Mengdavid said.

According to an Asian Development Bank’s study, the RCEP will increase the member economies’ incomes by 0.6% by 2030, adding Us$245 bil (RM1.1 trillion) annually to regional income and 2.8 million jobs to regional employment.