On 28 September 2021, H.E. Mrs. Phantipha Iamsudha Ekarohit, Ambassador of Thailand to Spain, in capacity as Current Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Madrid (ACM) gave an opening remark at the business seminar “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): Opportunities for Spain”. The activity was organized, in hybrid format, by the ACM, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid, Casa Asia, ASEAN-Spain Business Association and Club de Exportadores e Inversores, at the premise of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid. Guest speakers from the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Business Advisory Council, as well as Spanish public, private and academic sector gave an overview on the development of RCEP Agreement with the objective of creating awareness among the Spanish private sector on how to reap the benefits offered by the Agreement. There were 100 participants attending the seminar both physically and virtually.

RCEP comprises of 15 member countries, including 10 ASEAN members (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos) and 5 ASEAN’s dialogue partners (China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand). It encompasses a market of 2.2 billion people with a combined size of 30% of the world’s GDP. The RCEP Agreement was signed by the 15 countries in 2020. It is expected that the Agreement will come into force in 2022.