Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Chile and Bangladesh are seeking to join the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECEP), the world's largest trade bloc, Southeast Asian officials said on Thursday (25 September).
The RCEP currently consists of China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and all ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
RCEP officials, who are meeting on the sidelines of a gathering of ASEAN trade and economic ministers in Malaysia this week, said they had few objections to accepting new applicants and will work towards bringing the four economies into the bloc.
"We are of course in support of any countries that are willing to join the RCEP," Indonesia's Vice Minister of Trade Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia's trade minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said any decision on new RCEP members will be discussed when the bloc's leaders meet for the first time in five years in October.
Some analysts have described the RCEP as a potential buffer against tariffs imposed by the United States, though its provisions are considered weaker than some other regional trade deals due to competing interests among its members.
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Italy has sent a second navy ship in support of the international aid flotilla that has come under drone attack while trying to deliver aid to Gaza, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.
A man in his 40s has been arrested in West Sussex in connection with a cyberattack on Collins Aerospace that disrupted check-in systems across multiple European airports, including Brussels, Berlin and Heathrow.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will learn his fate in a corruption trial on Thursday in which he is accused of taking millions of euros from late Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi to help finance his 2007 election campaign.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 25th of August, covering the latest developments you need to know.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Italy has sent a second navy ship in support of the international aid flotilla that has come under drone attack while trying to deliver aid to Gaza, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.
A man in his 40s has been arrested in West Sussex in connection with a cyberattack on Collins Aerospace that disrupted check-in systems across multiple European airports, including Brussels, Berlin and Heathrow.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 25th of August, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Thailand and Cambodia should scale back their military presence along their shared border and work together to de-escalate tensions, Thailand's new foreign minister told reporters on Thursday.
Azerbaijan will help African nations address climate challenges through the Baku Hub, a platform launched under its COP29 presidency to link climate change with peacebuilding and migration policy.
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