In a first, RCEP summit to kick off at Head of Govt level

The commerce ministry today said that for the first time the RCEP summit is taking place at the Head of Government level in Manila on November 14 to offer guidance to negotiators.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries, which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.
"This is for the first time that RCEP Summit is taking place at the Head of Government level on 14th November 2017 in Manila to give guidance to the negotiators," the ministry said in a tweet.
So far, 20 rounds of negotiations have concluded since 2012.

India is aiming to achieve comparable ambition in all key pillars of RCEP negotiations and seek balanced outcomes, it added.
The 16-member bloc RCEP comprises 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six FTA partners India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Talks for the pact had started in Phnom Penh in November 2012. India already has implemented a free trade agreement with the ASEAN, Japan and South Korea.
The country is negotiating similar pacts with Australia and New Zealand.