Covering a market of 3.6 billion people and one-third of global gross domestic product, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) linking 16 Asia-Pacific countries would create the world’s largest trading bloc and would, as Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan pointed out, be “a game changer” for the region. But for the agreement to achieve its full potential, Asia’s third-largest economy, India, needs to be on board.

With RCEP negotiations having dragged on since 2013 with repeated delays, there is now a growing sense of urgency to complete them by the end of this year. By speeding up economic integration in the Asia-Pacific, it would boost intra-regional trade and to some extent blunt the impact of the United States-China trade war, which affects several countries. It would also send a powerful signal that the region remains committed to open, rules-based trade.