A second major benefit of RCEP is its strategic significance for New Zealand and the region. The Indo-Pacific is of critical importance to New Zealand, and we have strong people links across the region, visible in the make-up of our multicultural society. It is also the location of all of our current free-trade agreements, from bilateral agreements and arrangements with individual economies to larger ones like this one before us today. At RCEP's core is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The agreement has been ASEAN-led and demonstrates that ASEAN is committed to ongoing regional economic integration, and New Zealand is committed to the objective. Joining RCEP ensures that we will be at the table where decisions affecting our interests will be taken. It reinforces our place in the region and sends an important signal of New Zealand's openness to trade and commitment to the rules-based international trading system. As is in the name, RCEP is a regional comprehensive economic partnership. It provides the framework for increasing economic integration at a time when trends of protectionism are rising. It demonstrates that Governments, even in challenging times, are able to compromise, engage for cooperation, and provide commitments to each other. And these commitments in the trade and economic sector space also bolster New Zealand's ability to engage on the political and security issues that matter to our region.