Kuala lumpur: Suphajee presided over the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit, promoting multilateralism and expanding new members to strengthen regional supply chains and address global trade uncertainty. Ms. Suphajee Suthumpun, Minister of Commerce, representing Prime Minister Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, attended the 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Leaders from 15 member countries, including the 10 ASEAN nations, along with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, were present. This marked the first RCEP leaders' meeting in five years since the agreement entered into force.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Suphajee stated that member countries agree that global trade is currently facing uncertainty due to geopolitical factors impacting regional supply chains. Therefore, Thailand reaffirms RCEP's position on maintaining an open, transparent, and rules-based multilateral trading system to build confidence among the private sector in trade and investment within the region.
The Minister of Commerce added that the RCEP agreement has the potential to reduce the risk of reliance on major trading partners by expanding its membership beyond the current 15 countries. This is in line with the Thai government's policy of expanding trade markets and using FTAs as a tool to penetrate new markets in various regions of the world. The addition of new members will enhance supply chain resilience, expand the region's economic networks, and provide Thai exporters with greater access to markets outside of ASEAN.
Ms. Suphajee also proposed to the meeting ways to elevate RCEP's role as a trade leader in Asia, preparing for the 2027 review of the agreement to cover modern issues such as digital trade, green trade, and supporting SMEs to participate equally in supply chains.
The Thai Ministry of Commerce will host the RCEP Senior Officials' Meeting on November 16-17 in Chiang Mai Province to advance the leaders' conclusions and push regional economic cooperation forward in a concrete manner.