India today gave its commitment to support the realisation of a balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will offer equal justice to manufacturing, services and investment sectors. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) agreement was discussed at both ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister and other leaders reaffirmed support for a modern, comprehensive, high quality, balanced and mutually beneficial agreement, sources said here. Later India, the 10 member ASEAN, Australia, China, Korea, New Zealand and Japan adopted a joint statement stating that progress had been made in negotiating a mutually beneficial economic partnership.
The RCEP statement welcomed the intensified efforts to advance market access and text-based negotiations, remaining mindful that considerable work still had to be done. “We are pleased to note the resilient economic performance of the countries participating in the RCEP negotiations given the challenging global economic conditions,” the statement said. The combined output of the sixteen Participating Countries amounted to USD 22.4 trillion or 30.6 per cent of world output in 2015. The total trade among the Participating Countries amounted to USD 11.9 trillion in 2015, while total FDI inflows to Participating Countries reached USD 329.6 billion, the statement said. While acknowledging the complexities of the RCEP negotiations and the diversity of the Participating Countries, including differences in the level of development, the countries resolved to find appropriate ways to address the various sensitivities and interests of each Participating Country to arrive at balanced, high-quality and mutually-beneficial outcomes. The 16 nations in the agreement reiterated the importance of advancing negotiations and instructed their Ministers and officials to further intensify negotiations in a cooperative manner for the swift conclusion of the RCEP negotiations.
SOURCE: The Financial Express