RCEP is not just an important achievement in terms of the outcomes for New Zealand and our economy but it highlights New Zealand's commitment to cooperation with other trading nations and our commitment to working with the broader Indo-Pacific region and ASEAN. It is no coincidence that all New Zealand's free-trade agreements to date are in the Indo-Pacific region. At the core of RCEP is the Association of South-East Asian Nations. It is an ASEAN-led agreement and a demonstration of ASEAN's ongoing commitment to regional economic integration and trade, and it is important that New Zealand continues to be part of that. After all, ASEAN has risen to become our fourth-largest trading bloc. 