While we were all watching the spread of COVID-19, the heads of 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia, signed the Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership (RCEP). The world's largest free trade agreement, with a population of 2.2 billion, marked the beginning of the Asian era. The deal, larger than the European Union or the Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada, covers almost a third of the world's population and accounts for almost 30 percent of global GDP. With India due to join within the first year, the total population covered by the agreement will grow to 3.5 billion, and its share of global GDP will rise to 40 percent. Half of the world's population will trade under this new umbrella in a region that is experiencing the fastest GDP growth in the world. The deal's staggering potential: the deal is estimated to add nearly $ 190 billion to global national income by 2030. And the tropical paradise island of Phuket is a tiny geographical point at the center of the most exciting Asian progress in recent times. Phuket will benefit enormously if it takes advantage of the opportunity offered by this historic pact. For a long time, positioned as a potential regional IT center, the realization of this ambition remained frustratingly difficult, but now, as a member of the VREP, it is time for Phuket and Thailand to cross the finish line. Phuket has an abundance of international-standard hotels, a good internet connection, clean air, and a world-class beach lifestyle worth dying for. And now it has the opportunity to achieve tremendous tourism growth, as well as repositioning itself as a magnet for individuals and companies seeking to capitalize on its strategic location in the center of the world's largest shopping district. Imagine the potential that 50 percent of the world's population with the world's fastest-growing economy will be able to fly no longer than six or seven hours of flight. Imagine how easy it would be to attract the best specialists in the world to your business. Imagine Phuket as a commercial powerhouse in Asia. As one of Thailand's busiest airports in terms of cargo and passenger traffic, Phuket Airport has a capacity of 20 million passengers per year, serving more than 18 million passengers on 115,000 flights during 2019. Phuket has its own infrastructure. The attractiveness of the island is undeniable, as evidenced even by the huge number of ultra-high-income families who have already moved here or are planning to even from further away than the countries in this new economic bloc. The future is bright. The potential is real. All we need is to achieve results.
