1. We, the Economic Ministers of the ASEAN Member States, Australia, China, Japan, Korea and New Zealand met on 27 August 2020 for the 8th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial Meeting. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam, in collaboration with Mr. Vangelis Vitalis, Deputy Secretary, Trade and Economic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, acting as the Facilitator for the non-ASEAN RCEP Participating Countries (RPCs).
2. The Ministers acknowledged that the unprecedented challenge brought about by the COVID-19 global pandemic had affected the trade and investment performance among the RPCs. They agreed that this challenge made it imperative for countries in the region, including those participating in the RCEP negotiations, to not only keep their markets open, particularly for essential goods and services, but also boost joint cooperation and collaboration in the fight against the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Download the full statement here.
- ABOUT ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.Menu - WHAT WE DO
ASEAN organs always strive to achieve ASEAN’s goals and objectives, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat shall be functioned as coordinating Secretariat to help facilitate effective decision-making withing and amongst ASEAN bodies. In addition, each Member State shall appoint a Permanent Representative to liaise with Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN SecretariatÂ
Menu - WHO WE WORK WITH
ASEAN shall develop friendly relations and mutually beneficial dialogues, cooperation and partnerships with countries and sub-regional, regional and international organisations and institutions. This includes external partners, ASEAN entities, human rights bodies, non-ASEAN Member States Ambassadors to ASEAN, ASEAN committees in third countries and international organisations, as well as international / regional organisations.
Menu - OUR COMMUNITIES
The rodmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015) was declared by the leaders in 2009. The ASEAN Community, anchored on three community pillars: Political-Security Community, Economic Community, Socio-Cultural Community was launched in 2015. The ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together was introduced in 2015 as a Post-2015 Vision. It comprises the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025, the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025
Menu
