Sri Lanka will apply to join RCEP trade bloc, Wickremesinghe says

TOKYO -- Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe said he intends to apply for membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade bloc, as his South Asian country strives to rebuild its crisis-hit economy.

Wickremesinghe told Nikkei's Future of Asia forum on Thursday that Sri Lanka would look to join RCEP "with the aim of achieving a higher level of economic liberalization." Sri Lanka had recently mooted the prospect of joining.