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.
Britain’s Labour government spent Wednesday scrambling to regain control of its economic and political narrative after Chancellor Rachel Reeves unve...
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all ...
France’s highest court upheld former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for illegal campaign financing on Wednesday, marking another legal set...
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called for restraint and respect for international law as tensions between Pakistan a...
French police have arrested four people, two of them Russian nationals, on suspicion of spying for a foreign power, the Paris prosecutor said on Wedne...
Britain’s Labour government spent Wednesday scrambling to regain control of its economic and political narrative after Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled a deeply contentious Budget — one that had already been accidentally leaked online just minutes before she stepped up to the dispatch box.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
Russia successfully launched a military satellite into space on Wednesday (November 26) from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, marking another milestone in the country's expanding space capabilities.
Latest reports from Hong Kong authorities puts the current death toll of the Tai Po fire at 13 with the number of injured people revised down from 28 to 15 as the blaze continues.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano in north-eastern Ethiopia erupted on Sunday for the first time in over 12,000 years, before halting on Monday, according to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.
Venezuela says it has deployed a range of weapons, including decades-old Russian-made equipment, and plans to mount guerrilla-style resistance in the event of an air or ground assault particularly from the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump has told his advisers that he plans to speak directly with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro according to Axios, as Washington designated him as the head of a terrorist organisation on Monday. A claim Maduro denies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has once again expressed strong support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, condemning foreign interference and criticising U.S. actions in the region.
The United States is preparing to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, four U.S. officials told Reuters, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.
Britain’s Labour government spent Wednesday scrambling to regain control of its economic and political narrative after Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled a deeply contentious Budget — one that had already been accidentally leaked online just minutes before she stepped up to the dispatch box.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
France’s highest court upheld former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for illegal campaign financing on Wednesday, marking another legal setback for the 70-year-old ex-leader.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called for restraint and respect for international law as tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalate yet again.
French police have arrested four people, two of them Russian nationals, on suspicion of spying for a foreign power, the Paris prosecutor said on Wednesday.
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