Over 80 documents will be signed at the upcoming 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings, said Nguyen Quoc Dung, Vietnamese deputy minister of foreign affairs.
The number will be a record high for ASEAN summit and related meetings, he told a press briefing Monday held specifically for the meetings, which will take place from Nov. 12 to 15 via video conference.
According to Dung, the negotiation for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has been finalized, and the potential signature will take place on Nov. 15 at an RCEP summit if its member countries manage to complete their respective domestic procedures for the signing.
The deal would give a boost to regional trade especially between its member countries, as supply chain has been disrupted as a result of COVID-19, he added.
After the meetings, the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies will be launched, with post-pandemic recovery as one of the main topics of the meetings, Dung said.
Founded in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam is the ASEAN chair for 2020.