KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is planning to organise the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Summit in October this year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar said the RCEP Summit, which will be the first of its kind in Malaysia, will be held in the same month as the 47th Asean Summit.
“As Asean chair, Malaysia intends to convene an RCEP Summit in October. The aim is to take stock, to accelerate implementation and to demonstrate that Asia can still lead the cause of openness even as others turn inward,” said Anwar.
Anwar made these remarks during his speech at the KL Roundtable on Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation of the BOAO Forum for Asia.
Since 2009, China has been Asean’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching US$546.6bil in the first seven months this year.
Among the 10 Asean member countries, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia were China‘s top trade partners, with a turnover of up to 13.7%, 24.1% and 4.1%, respectively, according to statistics by the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
More to come
