BUSAN, Nov 26 (NNN-XINHUA) – The 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Korea, agreed today (Tuesday), to resist all forms of protectionism and enhance trade for regional prosperity.
The agreement was reached after the two-day ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, held in Busan, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of dialogue relations between the two sides.
In a joint vision statement, released after the summit, ASEAN and South Korea agreed to their “commitment to support the enhancement of trade and investment and the resistance to all forms of protectionism, in order to improve regional development and prosperity.”
“We are facing new challenges, such as trade protectionism, transnational crimes and the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, said.
Moon offered to overcome the challenges through “cooperation and solidarity” between the two sides, and build a fair, free “trade community” to prevent trade protectionism from shrinking trade and investment in the region.
The special summit was co-chaired by Moon and Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha. In a statement, they welcomed the conclusion of text-based negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Fifteen RCEP participating countries concluded text-based negotiations and all market access issues earlier this month in Bangkok, with an aim to sign the mega free-trade pact next year.
ASEAN is South Korea’s second-biggest trading partner, with trade between the two sides reaching 160 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. South Korea is the fifth-largest trading partner for ASEAN.– NNN-XINHUA