Thailand
Cambodia: PM says implementing RCEP a priority
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement among 15 Asia-Pacific nations, will stimulate economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday.
Delivering a video message to mark the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Day, the premier said the agreement will help create jobs, and strengthen the supply chain in the region and the world as a whole.
Mr Hun Sen also pointed out that the full and effective implementation of the RCEP agreement is a priority.
“As the Chair of ASEAN 2022, Cambodia will work closely with RCEP countries to promote the full and effective implementation of the RCEP Agreement to further intensify the facilitation of cross-border trade movements,” the Prime Minister said.
He also pointed out that Asean’s long-term growth and prosperity will depend on its resilience in re-boosting regional economic recovery and growth.
“We need to put more efforts to implement a broad spectrum of initiatives ranging from industrial transformation, digitalisation, and innovation to integration of the global supply chains, digital economy and e-commerce. We need to push for a more vibrant and harmonious Asean Community by seeking more protection for our migrant workers and increasing support for green and inclusive development agenda and the UN SDGs targets. In the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we have no choice but to enable the digital transformation of our women and youth entrepreneurship,” he added.
The RCEP, which came into force in January this year, comprises 10 Asean member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – and their five trading partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
According to an Asean foreign ministers’ joint communique released recently, RCEP would be a key contributor to the recovery strategy of Asean.
“The RCEP would make a significant contribution to our recovery strategy and continue to support an inclusive and open trade and investment architecture in the region,” the communique, which was released during the 55th Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Phnom Penh, said.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 55th AMM last week, Mr Hun Sen proposed the establishment of a standalone secretariat in Cambodia to maximize the potential of the RCEP.
“Cambodia is ready to host this RCEP secretariat. We have even thought of where in Phnom Penh the secretariat should be located, while we are working to formulate our detailed proposal. I hope Cambodia can win the support of fellow Asean member states, as well as all RCEP participating countries when we submit our proposal officially,” he said.
Reflecting the significance of RCEP in boosting the regional economy, Cambodia’s total export to other member countries of RCEP rose 10 percent year-on-year to reach $3.28 billion in the first half of 2022.
According to the Ministry of Commerce report last month, Cambodia’s top three export destinations during the period were Vietnam, China and Japan.
The Kingdom shipped products worth $1.17 billion to Vietnam, $612 million to China and $542 million to Japan, the report indicated.
According to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the RCEP is expected to boost global trade by nearly three percent, with a 1.5 percent global growth effect in five years.
Meanwhile, an Asian Development Bank’s study said the RCEP will increase the member economies’ incomes by 0.6 percent by 2030, adding $245 billion annually to regional income and 2.8 million jobs to regional employment.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501128454/pm-says-implementing-rcep-a-priority/