(June 26): The Philippines, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia will start talks about joining a regional trade bloc, the next step for the three in efforts to expand free-trade ties.
Senior officials from the 12-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will being preparatory discussions with the three nations, according to a joint statement from the 12-nation bloc released by Singapore on Friday. The grouping originally began as a US initiative in the Asia-Pacific, but the US quit in 2017, with Japan, Canada, Australia and now the UK the largest members.
In the virtual meeting, ministers reaffirmed their commitment to formalise the accession of Costa Rica as soon as possible, according to the statement, and instructed the working group to expedite its work on Uruguay’s application to join.
The ministers also confirmed their interest in “constructive and forward-looking engagement” with the European Union on possible dialogues on investment and trade.
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