Hearing India's Position on Last Year's RCEP 'Non-Participation'... Government Says "Ongoing Dialogue"

Yeohan Gu, Director General for Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government is once again encouraging India to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). India decided not to participate in the agreement negotiations last year, judging that concerns about the trade deficit with RCEP countries had not been fully resolved. The government has stated that it will act as a coordinator between ASEAN and non-ASEAN countries throughout the RCEP negotiations and plans to maintain steady dialogue with India.

On the 10th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Ye Han-gu, Director-General for Trade Negotiations, will discuss ways to expand trade cooperation between the two countries with Anup Wadhawan, India's Commerce Secretary, in Delhi on the 11th. They will discuss not only India's participation in RCEP but also the future direction of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) improvement negotiations between the two countries.

During this visit, Director-General Ye will listen to India's recent discussions and positions regarding RCEP and exchange opinions on India's participation plans. In November last year, the RCEP member country leaders agreed in a joint statement that all participating countries would make efforts to enable India to join RCEP. Last year, 15 countries excluding India declared the conclusion of the agreement text.

Additionally, Director-General Ye will meet with major Indian companies, economic organizations, and research institutes to actively explain Korea's "New Southern Policy" and exchange views on the direction of economic cooperation between the two countries.