"We hereby instruct our ministers and negotiators to intensify efforts in 2018 to bring the RCEP negotiations to conclusion, and resolve to ensure they have the necessary support to achieve this outcome," the RCEP leaders said in a joint statement.
Duterte, who chaired the RCEP summit, said the RCEP leaders "expressed our resolve to realize a substantial conclusion of negotiations on this economic instrument."
RCEP "is not simply another trade agreement but a trade agreement that could provide the size and scale to unleash new growth potential and write the new rules of the game of the international trade order," Duterte said.
ASEAN leaders stressed the need to clear the hurdles to move the trade talks forward amid "rising protectionism and anti-globalization sentiments."
"While this negotiation continues to be a complex and challenging task, we reaffirmed our commitment to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement negotiated as a single undertaking that would support an open and enabling trade and investment environment in the region," the leaders said.
The 16 participating countries account for almost half of the world population, 31.6 percent of global output, 28.5 percent of global trade and a fifth of the global foreign direct investment inflows in 2016, according to ASEAN data.
The 10-member ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The conclusion of RCEP will lead to the creation of the world's largest trade bloc, covering nearly one-third of the global economy in 2016, and underscored the potential for the RCEP to serve as an engine for global growth.
Moreover, RCEP will expand the ASEAN market from more than 630 million people to 3.5 billion.
Launched in November 2012, RCEP targeted to cover trade-in goods and services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property rights, competition policy, and dispute settlement, among others. It is seen as a good platform for the region to negotiate with other regional blocks.
Against the backdrop of growing protectionism and anti-globalization sentiments across the globe, ASEAN remains resilient and dynamic in forging ahead with regional economic integration that is a key facet of the ASEAN Economic Community.
Philippine Trade Secretary Lopez said RCEP is seen as "the next logical step in ASEAN's regional integration."
"By bringing it and its partner economies under a single, ambitious high quality trade agreement, RCEP further reinforces the Southeast Asia region as the economic center of gravity," Lopez said.
