National
• 6 hours ago• Lim_Rothanaksambath
RCEP Ministers Agree to Open Talks on Expanding Bloc
PHNOM PENH — Sept. 22, 2026: Trade ministers from the 15 RCEP economies have agreed to begin work on expanding and upgrading the world's largest free trade agreement, opening the door to new members including Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong, China and Sri Lanka.
The decisions came at the Fifth RCEP Ministers' Meeting in Manila on Sept. 21, co-chaired by Indonesia and New Zealand, according to the joint media statement.
Ministers approved the establishment of an ad hoc Accession Working Group to advance the four applicants' bids, and noted Uruguay's expression of interest from February 2026.
On the Agreement's future, the Meeting welcomed the start of work for the 2027 General Review — known as the "RCEP Upgrade" — including initial discussions on key elements and areas of review. The RCEP Joint Committee has been tasked with preparing a Joint Scoping Paper, with ministers aiming to endorse it and announce the launch of the Upgrade at next year's ministerial meeting.
The Meeting reaffirmed commitments to refrain from measures inconsistent with RCEP obligations, to uphold an open, free, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, and to support WTO reform.
Ministers also welcomed the launch of the official RCEP website (https://rcepsec.org/) as a central platform for public information, and encouraged continued engagement with the private sector through the RCEP Business Advisory Council.
Photo: ASEAN
They expressed appreciation for economic and technical cooperation initiatives from Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea, and for technical support from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia.
Source: ASEAN Secretariat
Reported by The Khmer Daily Network
The decisions came at the Fifth RCEP Ministers' Meeting in Manila on Sept. 21, co-chaired by Indonesia and New Zealand, according to the joint media statement.
Ministers approved the establishment of an ad hoc Accession Working Group to advance the four applicants' bids, and noted Uruguay's expression of interest from February 2026.
On the Agreement's future, the Meeting welcomed the start of work for the 2027 General Review — known as the "RCEP Upgrade" — including initial discussions on key elements and areas of review. The RCEP Joint Committee has been tasked with preparing a Joint Scoping Paper, with ministers aiming to endorse it and announce the launch of the Upgrade at next year's ministerial meeting.
The Meeting reaffirmed commitments to refrain from measures inconsistent with RCEP obligations, to uphold an open, free, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, and to support WTO reform.
Ministers also welcomed the launch of the official RCEP website (https://rcepsec.org/) as a central platform for public information, and encouraged continued engagement with the private sector through the RCEP Business Advisory Council.
Photo: ASEANThey expressed appreciation for economic and technical cooperation initiatives from Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea, and for technical support from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia.
Source: ASEAN Secretariat
Reported by The Khmer Daily Network
