Thailand has completed ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, Deputy Prime Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said Monday.

       The country has ratified the trade pact upon depositing its instrument of ratification with the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on October 28, the official said.

       Apart from Thailand, other ASEAN members including Singapore, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos have already ratified the RCEP agreement, reports Xinhua news agency.

       Meanwhile, China and Japan have also completed ratifications of the pact.

       Signed in November last year, the RCEP is a mega trade deal between 10 ASEAN member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

       Ratifications from at least six ASEAN member countries and three of the other five member countries are needed for the trade deal to take effect.

       Once in effect, the deal will eliminate tariffs on as much as 90 per cent of goods traded between its signatories over the next 20 years.

       --IANS

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