Singapore has expressed support for Japan ’s early participation in
the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, as member countries
concluded bilateral consultations with Tokyo.
“We are confident that Japan will be a valuable partner in the
development of a high quality agreement to spur economic growth across
the Asia-Pacific region,” Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a joint statement on
April 21.
According to the statement, as the
world’s third largest economy, Japan’s inclusion has further raised
the strategic and economic significance of the TPP and reinforced the
agreement’s strategic vision of advancing regional economic integration
and promoting regional development and stability.
Earlier, trade ministers of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile,
Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States
and Vietnam discussed the status of their discussions with Japan
on its interest in joining the TPP.
The discussion
took place on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade in Indonesia on
April 20.
The ministers confirmed that each
TPP member has concluded bilateral consultations with Tokyo regarding
Japan ’s interest in joining the TPP. They agreed by consensus to
finalize with Japan the process for entry in a manner that allows
the negotiations to continue expeditiously toward conclusion – as was
done with other members that joined the negotiations in progress.
With Japan’s entry, TPP countries would account for nearly 40
percent of global GDP and about one-third of all world trade.-VNA