Leaders of the 12 countries participating in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations are expected to hold a summit on October 8 in Bali, Indonesia.
Japan’s Kyodo News quoted a source involved in the talks as saying that the meeting, to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, is not expected to produce a free trade agreement but could come up with a basic outline of the deal.
Negotiators representing the TPP countries are trying to conclude what could be the world’s most ambitious and comprehensive FTA by the end of this year, more than three years after negotiations started in 2010.
After a round of negotiations in Brunei this month, ministers from the 12 negotiating countries agreed to maintain “active engagement” in the run-up to the October summit, which “will be an important milestone as the 12 countries work intensively to conclude this landmark agreement.”
In addition to Vietnam, the other nations participating in the TPP negotiations are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and the United States.
With a combined population of over 792 million people, the countries together account for nearly 40 percent of global economic output and about a third of world trade.-VNA
Đăng ký: VietNam News