Costa Rica joins Digital Economy Partnership Agreement
SINGAPORE – Costa Rica has joined the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), founded by Singapore, New Zealand and Chile, as its fifth member.
DEPA, which came into effect in January 2021, establishes key rules on digital trade and economic collaborations on issues such as digital identities, cross-border data flows and artificial intelligence to help businesses, especially smaller ones, engage in digital trade and electronic commerce.
Costa Rica was presented with the Instrument of Accession on the sidelines of the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership meeting in Auckland, New Zealand.
A joint statement by DEPA members on Sept 17 said Costa Rica’s successful accession represented a meaningful milestone and demonstrated the growing global interest in high-quality digital trade rules and cooperation.
“The accession of Costa Rica is testament to the agreement’s open and inclusive nature,” the statement said.
“The expansion of DEPA to include Costa Rica will strengthen the agreement and provide parties with greater opportunities to collaborate on digital economy initiatives.”
Costa Rica’s accession follows the announcement of the substantial conclusion of discussions in January 2025 and the completion of legal procedures.
In welcoming Costa Rica as DEPA’s latest member, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Ms Grace Fu, said: “This continues our momentum to keep the DEPA as an open and inclusive agreement to all economies that are able to meet its high standards.
“I look forward to deepening Singapore’s collaborations on the digital economy with Costa Rica.”
Costa Rica’s Minister for Foreign Trade Indiana Trejos said her country looked forward to actively contributing to the DEPA and working closely with all partners to strengthen digital trade and deepen cooperation.
“Together, we aim to ensure that our businesses are well positioned to seize the opportunities created by the digital transformation, while fostering sustainable economic growth and creating new opportunities for businesses and our people,” she added.
Chile’s Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, Paula Estevez, New Zealand’s Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay and South Korea’s Trade Minister Jung Sung Park also welcomed Costa Rica.
Estevez said the participation of another Latin American country in DEPA represented a valuable opportunity to strengthen digital integration across the Latin America region and foster new opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs.
Chile, New Zealand and Singapore signed DEPA in June 2020, with South Korea joining the trade agreement in May 2024 as its fourth member.
Costa Rica formally applied to join the trade deal in Dec 23, 2022.
