S'pore to seek expanded ASEAN trade ties as chair in 2027

Detailed summary

Singapore will seek to advance wider global partnerships for South-east Asia as ASEAN chair in 2027, said PM Wong. Read more at straitstimes.com.

When ASEAN marks its 60th anniversary next year, it will also mark milestone anniversaries with various dialogue partners such as America, the European Union, and Canada.

MANILA – South-east Asia and its businesses can benefit from wider partnerships with countries and groupings from around the world, and as ASEAN chair in 2027 Singapore will seek to advance such cooperation, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

When ASEAN marks its 60th anniversary next year, it will also mark milestone anniversaries with various dialogue partners such as America, the European Union (EU), and Canada, he noted.

“We should use that opportunity to strengthen our partnerships with existing and new stakeholders,” he said at a meeting with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council on Nov 15.

He cited ongoing trade talks with Canada, and interest from both ASEAN and the EU to come closer through a free trade agreement (FTA) between the groupings.

ASEAN can also consider forging closer links with the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Middle East, and to explore an upgrade of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to keep pace with evolving business needs, he added.

The RCEP, the world’s largest FTA, was conceived in 2011 as an ASEAN-led initiative to consolidate the grouping’s existing free-trade agreements with its dialogue partners and create a unified framework for regional trade and investment.

Its 15 member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, as well as Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

In September, RCEP members announced that an ad hoc working group was approved to advance membership applications for Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka into the pact. Uruguay has also expressed interest in joining.

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