PHNOM PENH: The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement is a boon not only for the Asia, but also for the rest of the world, Cambodian academics said.
Leaders of 15 RCEP participating countries signed the long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) at the fourth RCEP summit on Sunday during the 37th ASEAN virtual summit.
Initiated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2012, the RCEP is a mega-trade pact between its 10 member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and its FTA partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
Mey Kalyan, senior advisor to the Supreme National Economic Council, said the agreement would have great importance when global economy is losing out its balance due to the pandemic, protectionism and unilateralism. “At the time when COVID-19 is still threatening our lives in the region and in the world, signing this RCEP is one of the epoch-making events in Asia, which will have good impact not only in Asia, but also in the world,” he told media. “As a Cambodian citizen, I’m happy about it and congratulate ASEAN and Asia on strengthening their collaboration, and I believe that the RCEP agreement will drive the region’s growth in the post-COVID-19 era,” he said. Kalyan, who is also chairman of the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, said the agreement would provide a long-term benefit to all participating countries including Cambodia.
He said as the world is being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, China would be a very important force to pull out the Asian economy from this difficult time, saying that China’s economy is huge and less impacted by the pandemic. –Agencies
