Japan's economic revitalisation minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of CPTPP negotiation, said that the upcoming meeting of the CPTPP Council will be held virtually under the chair of Japan. The ministers will discuss the UK's application to join the agreement and measures to strengthen cooperation among the member countries.
The Jiji Press news agency quoted Nishimura as saying that Japan is "closely cooperating with the UK and carrying out the necessary work" to speed up the negotiations.
Signed in Chile in March 2018, CPTPP now has 11 members including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, accounting for 13% of world GDP.
It became effective on December 30, 2018 after it was ratified by Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore. In Vietnam, the deal came into force in January 2019.
