"First Gathering Since COVID-19"
Emphasis on the Importance of Resilience and Shared Prosperity
On the second day of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit, on the 27th (local time), the leaders of ASEAN, South Korea, China, Japan, and other major countries held a series of multilateral meetings and bilateral talks to discuss strengthening economic and trade cooperation.
On this day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the leaders of ASEAN and other countries held the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit, a major multilateral free trade agreement, and exchanged views on expanding the free trade market, trade and investment cooperation, strengthening supply chain resilience, and digitalization.
The RCEP Summit, held for the first time since 2020, was attended not only by the leaders of ASEAN, South Korea, China, Japan, and Australia, but also by President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva of Brazil, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, and others.
President Lee Jae-myung is taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the ASEAN+3 Summit held on the 27th at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia. Photo by Yonhap News.
The participating leaders sought ways to buffer the impact of global protectionism through RCEP, which covers about 30% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and population.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who chaired the meeting as this year's ASEAN chair, stated, "This summit is particularly meaningful as it is the first gathering of RCEP leaders since the agreement was signed in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic."
He went on to mention the resilience and shared prosperity outlined in the RCEP spirit, emphasizing that the strategic importance of this meeting has become clearer than ever.
The leaders of RCEP member countries also discussed the potential accession of Chile, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, which have expressed interest in joining. Currently, RCEP consists of 15 member countries: the 10 ASEAN nations, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
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