Trade Minister Todd McClay is travelling to Laos today to participate in a series of Ministerial meetings in the capital city of Vientiane, including the fourth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) FTA Ministerial Meeting.

“Following New Zealand’s hosting of the 13th RCEP round in Auckland in June, the Ministerial Meeting will review the overall state of negotiation and look to address key issues, including in services, investment and goods,” says Mr McClay.

“I will continue to press my counterparts to ensure the negotiations deliver a modern, comprehensive and high quality agreement, consistent with the original vision of Leaders.

“The countries involved in RCEP have a combined population of over 3 billion and account for about 27 per cent of global trade. They include six of our top 10 trading partners who took nearly $30 billion of our exports in 2015.

“If RCEP is successfully concluded it will offer New Zealand businesses a single set of rules that deliver access to key markets across Asia, as well as improved trade and investment rules,” says Mr McClay.

While in Vientiane the Minister will also take the opportunity to meet bilaterally with his counterparts from a number of other countries, discussing both the RCEP negotiation and a range of other trade-related issues.

A release from the Beehive, Tuesday 2 August 2016