About Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership:
- It is a proposed agreement between the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners.
- The pact aims to cover trade in goods and services, intellectual property, etc.
- Member Countries: The RCEP bloc comprises 10 ASEAN group members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six FTA partners – China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
- RCEP negotiations were launched in November 2012 and entered into force on 1 January 2022
- Objective
- RCEP aims to create an integrated market with 16 countries, making it easier for products and services of each of these countries to be available across this region.
- The negotiations are focused on the following: Trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property, dispute settlement, e-commerce, small and medium enterprises, and economic cooperation.
Q1: What is ASEAN?
It is a group of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which was established in 1967 with the signing of the Bangkok declaration.
Last updated on August, 2026
→ UPSC Mains 2026 will be conducted on 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th August 2026.
→ Check out the latest UPSC Syllabus 2026 here.
→ UPSC Mains Admit Card 2026 is expected to be released in early August at upsc.gov.in or upsconline.nic.in
→ Enroll in Vajiram & Ravi’s UPSC Mains Test Series 2026 for structured answer writing practice, expert evaluation, and exam-oriented feedback.
→ Go through the UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers to enhance your preparation.
→ Download UPSC Mains Essay Paper 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-I 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-II 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-III 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-IV 2025, UPSC Mains English (Compulsory) Paper 2025, UPSC Mains Hindi (Qualifying) Paper 2025 here.
→ UPSC has released UPSC Toppers List 2025 with the Civil Services final result on its official website.
→ UPSC Calendar 2027 has been released.
→ Also check Best UPSC Coaching in India







