Prime Minister Prayut attended the the 4th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit and witnessed the virtual signing ceremony of the Agreement, which will help to enhance regional competitiveness, investment opportunities, and accelerate economic recovery from COVID-19. The Prime Minister also emphasised that the RCEP Agreement remains open for India to discuss further.

On 15 November 2020, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, attended the 4th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit via video conference. The Meeting was chaired by Prime Minister of Viet Nam and attended by Leaders from RCEP Participating Countries, including ASEAN Member States, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Prime Minister Prayut welcomed the conclusion and signing of the RCEP Agreement and expressed his support for its early implementation to enhance regional competitiveness and investment opportunities as well as accelerate economic recovery from COVID-19. In addition, the Prime Minister emphasised the importance of India’s participation in RCEP and Thailand’s readiness to cooperate with all partners to bring India back to the RCEP Agreement in the future.

The Meeting highlighted the significance of the RCEP Agreement as the world’s largest Free Trade Agreement, covering more than 2.2 billion people and accounting for more than 30 per cent of the global GDP. In this regard, the Meeting agreed to expedite ratification process for the early implementation of the RCEP Agreement. Furthermore, RCEP Leaders also reaffirmed their willingness to continue dialogue with India and emphasised that the RCEP Agreement remains open for India.

Prime Minister Prayut also witnessed the virtual signing ceremony of the RCEP Agreement by 15 RCEP Ministers, in which H.E. Mr. Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce signed the RCEP Agreement for Thailand.