ASEAN Committed Towards Preserving Centrality In RCEP Negotiations, Says Minister Mustapa

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- ASEAN countries have reaffirmed commitment towards preserving centrality and meeting the 2016 deadline for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said. He said ASEAN had also agreed to direct their officials to step up the work in the next few weeks to ensure that the next round of negotiations in Brunei scheduled for Feb 15-19 next year would produce a good outcome. "Completing the RCEP negotiations by 2016 has become more urgent with the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in October 2015. "The meeting also noted that China and India have demonstrated commitment to achieve progress in RCEP negotiations," he said in a statement released here Wednesday. Mustapa, who chaired an informal gathering of ASEAN Ministers and Heads of Delegation in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday said the meeting was a follow-up to the decision made by ASEAN leaders in Kuala Lumpur recently. He is in Nairobi to attend the four-day World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference which will end Friday. Mustapa said at the ASEAN ministerial meeting, every ASEAN member state shared the challenges they were facing in areas involving goods, services and investment under the RCEP negotiations. "By doing so, it is hoped that we will have a better understanding of the challenges faced as we seek to conclude the negotiations by end-2016," he said, adding RCEP had made good progress in trade in goods and investment. RCEP involves ASEAN and its six free trade agreement partners which accounts for 30 per cent of world trade. The economic partnership provides a big boost towards closer economic integration among the countries involved as well as with other countries around the globe. --BERNAMA