Jakarta, September 23, 2026 — The Europe Today: Indonesia has called for stronger cooperation among members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and greater utilization of the trade agreement to ensure its benefits reach a wider range of businesses, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Indonesian Deputy Trade Minister Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri, serving as the Alternate ASEAN Co-Chair, made the remarks while chairing the fifth RCEP Ministerial Meeting held in Pasay City, the Philippines, on September 21, on the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting.
Roro emphasized the need for RCEP members to intensify cooperation and outreach efforts to raise awareness among businesses about the opportunities and benefits available under the agreement.
She said stronger cooperation among RCEP participants was increasingly important to address shared challenges and enhance regional economic resilience. Indonesia also encouraged the full utilization of RCEP as a platform to deepen regional economic integration, strengthen trade and investment relations, and maintain an open, free, fair and rules-based trading system.
The ministers highlighted the importance of strengthening implementation of RCEP, expanding trade and investment, and enhancing economic resilience amid changes in the global economic landscape.
The meeting also noted progress on RCEP’s accession agenda and approved a recommendation by the RCEP Joint Committee to establish an ad hoc Accession Working Group for Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong, China, and Sri Lanka. The move reaffirmed the agreement’s open and inclusive character while ensuring that accession procedures remain consistent with established RCEP rules and processes.
The ministers further noted progress toward establishing a permanent RCEP Secretariat in Indonesia and encouraged the Joint Committee to continue work on the draft Terms of Reference and other preparations.
RCEP comprises the 10 ASEAN member states—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—along with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. Negotiations on the agreement began in 2012, and it was signed in 2020.
