ASEAN, India Look To RCEP's Conclusion By Year-End

NEW DELHI, July 7 (Bernama) -- ASEAN and India are hopeful of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) being possibly concluded by year-end, despite some major sticking points. Negotiators from 16 countries will be gathering in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad later this month to thrash out details of the RCEP. "We hope it will be concluded by year-end," said Thailand's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Virasakdi Futrakul. His thought echoed by other officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India participating in the annual forum. The RCEP talks, which started in 2012, involved the 10-member ASEAN and its existing free trade partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. The successful outcome will create a free trade area, encompassing 3.5 billion people from North Asia to India. Despite the optimistic outlook, doubts remain on whether the countries can overcome differences in certain important areas. India is driving a hard bargain over the services sector rules and wants greater freedom of movement for its workers, and is also reluctant to eliminate tariffs. Still, India's Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj sounded positive about the forthcoming 19th round of negotiations. "We look forward to a positive outcome of the next round of negotiations in Hyderabad. “Once finalised, RCEP offers immense possibilities as the world’s largest regional trading arrangement, accounting for about 40 per cent of world trade,” she said. Both ASEAN and India see the RCEP as a new impetus in developing closer economic and political relations. "This is the next stage in our economic integration process," said Brunei's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Erywan Pehin Yusof. After the US President Donald Trump's administration pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the countries who had participated in that deal, saw the benefits in concluding the RCEP. In May, New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay was reported as saying there was a renewed desire for a successful outcome of the RCEP. “But it's going to take a lot of hard work to get it done by year-end," he said. However, Bunn Nagara, a Senior Fellow at the Kuala Lumpur-based Institute for Strategic and International Studies, told Bernama it was hard to tell if negotiations can be concluded this year. "What's most important is that the RCEP is developing. It's a matter of time," he added. -- BERNAMA