The meeting will be chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh. 

The RCEP, which includes10 ASEAN countries and six dialogue partners, will be the world’s largest free trade agreement. Minister Anh said that once the RCEP takes effect, it will create a market ofapproximately3.5 billion consumers and a combined GDP of 49 trillion USD, 39% of the world’s total GDP.

The partnership, scheduled to be signed this year, will create the world’s largest free trade area. It is expected to boost the development of regional and global value chains and jack up the economies of ASEAN members and partners, including Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.