Having undergone several rounds of negotiations since 2012 between 10 ASEAN member countries and 6 dialogue partners, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is considered the largest free trade agreement in the world as it covers a huge market of 24.8 trillion USD and more than 2.3 billion people.
The 36th ASEAN Summit will take place on June 23 in Vietnam against the backdrop of severely damaged business and investor confidence as an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Containing and mitigating the spread of the pandemic is the current priority of all ASEAN member states, along with a concerted effort to shore up public health systems.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will preside over the opening, plenary and special sessions on women’s empowerment in digital age. He will also chair dialogues between ASEAN leaders and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), ASEAN youth representatives and ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC).
The Special Asean Summit (SAS) on April 14 emphasised the need for a collective response to COVID-19 that involves keeping the regional bloc’s markets open to trade.
Malaysia is no stranger to external shocks affecting its macroeconomy. Over the past two decades it has been buffeted by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis (AFC), the 2001 global slowdown after 9/11, and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Each shock affecting the Malaysian economy in different ways.
The Myanmar economy is expected to deteriorate further this year as a result of COVID-19, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said during a meeting with key finance ministers on June 16.
Entering 2020, there were many reasons for Asean to take pride in the bloc's progress towards sustainable development. Extreme poverty has decreased from 138 million people in 2000 to 44 million in 2015.
To cope with the adverse impact of COVID-19 on foreign investment, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak, has assigned the Board of Investment (BOI) to fine-tune its work by highlighting the strengths of the country to attract more foreign investors.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
