Da Nang (VNA) – Economic ministers frommember states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) discussedorientations to speed up the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP), at a meeting in Vietnam’s central Da Nang city on March 11.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade TranTuan Anh, who chaired the event, said the 10 member countries are striving tosign the deal at the end of 2020.

Currently, among the stakeholders, only Indiahas yet to reach an agreement on opening its market for partner countries, hesaid.

ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi called onASEAN economic officials to double efforts to boost the signing of theagreement.

At the ASEAN Summit in 2019, the countries’leaders set a goal of signing the RCEP in 2020, he said, adding that he hopedafter this meeting, the involved parties could finalise all necessary documentsin May and ink the deal at the end of the year.

Launched in November 2012, the RCEP consists of10 ASEAN member countries –Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and six ASEANpartners – China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, India and NewZealand.

Once signed, the deal will create the largestfree trade area in the world with about 3.5 billion people and making up 30percent of the global GDP./.