PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, November 13, called for the "swift conclusion" of the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade deal led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) that covers half of the world's population.

Duterte made the call after economic ministers from Asia-Pacific countries postponed the year-end target for reaching a "substantial conclusion" to the proposed free trade pact because of failure to agree on key parts of the deal.

In his intervention during a working dinner with Asean leaders in Singapore, Duterte described the proposed RCEP as "a centerpiece of Asean's external economic relations."

"Amidst prevailing uncertainties in the global economy, we must continue supporting the rules-based multilateral trading system. Trade actions contrary to this benefit no one and only threaten the prospects of economic growth," he said.

"The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, in this regard, is a centerpiece of Asean's external economic relations. We must therefore work towards the swift conclusion of RCEP negotiations," he added.

Asean leaders and their free trade agreement partners launched the RCEP negotiations in Cambodia in 2012.

RCEP is envisioned to be a huge framework for economic cooperation among 16 nations that include Asean's 10 member-states, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

The proposed global free trade deal aims to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually-beneficial economic partnership agreement among the Asean member-states and their free trade agreement partners.

The draft RCEP seeks to cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, and dispute settlement, among other issues. (SunStar Philippines)