Jakarta. ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said on Monday that the Southeast Asian bloc was working towards expanding the membership of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact.

This means that the RCEP, of which its signatories account for 32 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), can grow even larger. ASEAN also plans on establishing a support unit for the trade deal at its secretariat in Jakarta.

“At the moment, our ASEAN economic ministers are working towards finalizing the financial arrangement and contribution, particularly to have RCEP’s support unit at the ASEAN secretariat,” Kao Kim Hourn said at the 2023 ASEAN-Japan Business Week forum in Tokyo on Monday.

“At the same time, we are working towards the accession protocols to allow other economies to be part of the RCEP,” he added.

The RCEP brings together the 10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. The RCEP document states that anyone can join the trade deal 18 months after its entry into force. However, India does not have to wait that long since it is an original negotiating state. The RCEP negotiations began in 2012, but India pulled out of the talks in 2019.

The RCEP had just come into full effect for all 15 members after it finally entered into force in the ASEAN member Philippines last Friday. The RCEP will eliminate as much as 90 percent of the tariffs on goods traded between its signatories within 20 years of the agreement entering into force.

Kao Kim Hourn also spoke of ASEAN’s current economic ties with fellow RCEP member Japan. He revealed that ASEAN-Japan trade totaled $240.4 billion in 2021, marking a 17-percent growth compared to the 2020 figures. ASEAN also attracted $11.8 billion in direct investment from Japan in 2021.

According to Kao Kim Hourn, ASEAN serves as a home for over 14,000 Japanese companies. The presence of these Japanese business networks has effectively integrated ASEAN as a major hub. 

“And entry into force of the RCEP, the world’s largest FTA [free trade agreement], serves as a monumental initiative, providing vital support for businesses, especially Japanese enterprises, and diversifying their source of trade and investment,” he added.