JAKARTA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian Trade Ministry emphasized on Monday that the establishment of the Support Unit of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was an important milestone in the world's largest free trade agreement by members' GDP.
RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
On Sunday, representatives from the RCEP member states gathered in the capital of Laos, Vientiane, for the Third RCEP Ministers' Meeting.
The meeting was co-chaired by Indonesia's Director General of International Trade Negotiations of the Trade Ministry, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, and China's Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei.
In a statement published by the Trade Ministry on Monday, Witjaksono said that the RCEP Support Unit as the world's largest free trade agreement support unit will start operation as early as 2024.
"This unit will play an important role in ensuring that the implementation of the RCEP agreement runs efficiently and effectively to contribute to economic integration in the region as a whole," he said. ■