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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Iran's national team received an emotional send-off from supporters in Tijuana on Sunday,14 June as they departed for Los Angeles ahead of their World Cup opener against New Zealand.
All 12 people on board a plane that crashed near Butler Memorial Airport in the U.S. state of Missouri have died, according to local authorities.
Senior officials from Azerbaijan and Armenia held a working meeting in Dilijan, Armenia, on 14 June to discuss issues related to the peace agenda between the two countries.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Geneva on Sunday, 14 June ahead of this week's G7 summit in neighbouring France, but a largely peaceful demonstration later descended into clashes with police.
Pakistan has warned that any attempt by India to block or significantly reduce river flows under the Indus Waters Treaty could have “far-reaching consequences”, after India's water minister said New Delhi was working to ensure that “not a single drop” of water reaches Pakistan in the coming years.
Armenia has every right to choose Europe. But Europe’s support for Armenia’s direction should not become automatic approval of its political process.
The U.S. and Iran say they have reached a deal to end their conflict, with an immediate ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade. Talks will continue over the next 60 days to finalise the agreement
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a peace agreement with Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday in a post on social media, despite Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying no deal would be approved this weekend.
Japan’s birth rate and fertility levels have fallen to their lowest levels on record, highlighting the country’s worsening demographic crisis as fewer people marry and have children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday, 14 June about efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine, as world leaders prepare to gather for the G7 summit in France.
All 12 people on board a plane that crashed near Butler Memorial Airport in the U.S. state of Missouri have died, according to local authorities.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Geneva on Sunday, 14 June ahead of this week's G7 summit in neighbouring France, but a largely peaceful demonstration later descended into clashes with police.
Veteran U.S. politician Mitch McConnell has been admitted to hospital in Washington, DC, according to his office.
British anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson said he was detained by police at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, 13 June and had his mobile phone seized, days after posting extensively online about racist and anti-immigrant unrest in Northern Ireland.
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