ASEAN Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the full and effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Retreat (AMMR) that was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in both in-person and online formats from February 16-17, according to Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn.
The Asian and African markets played an important role in the growth of Việt Nam's trade thanks to positive import-export figures in 2021, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
Bilateral trade between Brunei Darussalam and China has reached a record high of USD2.85 billion last year, said the Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Yu Hong during an online media briefing yesterday.
Bangladesh views Thailand is a reliable and credible partner and friend, based on strong bilateral relations ever since independence a half-century ago. The two countries also share a common regional platform in Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).
It was a milestone year for Laos in 2021. The ruling Lao Peoples’ Revolutionary Party held its 11th Congress, finally realised its long-held aspiration to graduate from Least Developed Country status, and released a draft of the country’s ninth National Socio-Economic Development Plan. Laos also joined the newly ratified Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), commenced operations on the highly controversial Kunming to Vientiane high-speed railway, and the leadership duo of President Thongloun Sisoulith and Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh undertook some much-needed action on political corruption.
The Vientiane Economic Zone Management and Development Committee plans to continue monitoring project rollout and improve facilities in Laos’ economic zones this year.
ASEAN is launching a fact-finding mission to accelerate East Timor’s accession into the bloc, a task expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Malaysia and her other Southeast Asian neighbours must make use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to reopen their international borders and facilitate economic recovery.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
