"The ministers recalled the Leaders' determination to conclude a modern, comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial RCEP in 2019, and resolved to exert utmost effort to achieve this target," said the statement released after the 7th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting (7th RCEP ISSL MM) in Cambodia's Siem Reap province.
The one-day meeting was opened by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, it said.
The ministers commended the RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) for the good progress made to date on both market access and text-based negotiations, but at the same time recognized that more work still needs to be done to advance both aspects of the negotiations, the statement said.
It added that the ministers urged all RCEP participating countries to address specific sensitivities while working towards achieving commercially meaningful and balanced outcomes.
"The ministers remained confident that with collective commitment and pragmatism, the chapters and annexes that would comprise the RCEP Agreement can be concluded soon," the statement said.
It added that the ministers reiterated that it is the collective responsibility of all RCEP participating countries to ensure progress by overcoming negotiation challenges and finding solutions to the remaining issues through constructive engagement.
"To ensure that progress is made towards meeting the Leaders' mandate for conclusion in 2019, the ministers agreed to intensify engagement for the remainder of the year, including by convening more intersessional meetings," the statement said.
The ministers agreed to meet next at the 8th RCEP ISSL MM to be held in August after the 27th RCEP TNC meeting and related meetings, it said.
The RCEP, a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 ASEAN member states and six of their FTA partners -- China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, is expected to be one of the world's largest trading blocs, accounting for 45 percent of the world population, 40 percent of global trade and one third of the world's GDP. The talks on RCEP was launched in 2012.
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
