A new trade bloc covering a huge swathe of the Asia-Pacific region will play an important role in developing poorer economies and in post-pandemic stimulus, according to a report published on Monday by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Now the members of RCEP are 10-nation bloc ASEAN (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The deal marks the first time rival East Asian powers China, Japan and South Korea have been in a single free trade agreement.
Human rights groups have repeatedly called on the kingdom to abolish its “kafala” sponsorship system, described by critics as a modern form of slavery that binds workers to their Saudi employers.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant of $18.28 million in additional financing
Foreign direct investment (FDI), a bellwether of globalisation and economic confidence, fell by 49 per cent to $399 billion in the first half of 2020, amid the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a new report from the UN trade and development organization UNCTAD showed on Tuesday.
West and south Asia saw the sharpest declines, with imports dropping by 23 per cent, and exports by 29 per cent.
According to the report, with the COVID-19pandemic continuing to spread, many countries have slowed reopening, and some are reinstating partial lockdowns.
According to WTO, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a highly uneven effect on different sectors, as the overall world average fell by 21 per cent.
Stating that we need more joint ventures, more investments in the infrastructure and the manufacturing sector. “The role of Sovereign Wealth Funds in facilitating this will be very critical,” Mr. Bhattacharyya said