The chief negotiators for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement from relevant countries have converged on Vietnam to discuss the pact and prepare for a higher-level meeting next month, according to the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation (NCIEC).

About 400 representatives from the 12 TPP negotiating countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S., and Vietnam – started negotiations in Hanoi on Monday. The meetings will end next Wednesday.

The TPP is a proposed regional free-trade agreement that is currently being negotiated by the twelve countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The ongoing talks in the Vietnamese capital city also serve as a preparatory step for the next ministerial meeting, to be held in October.

It is expected to create many breakthroughs for rapid completion of the TPP negotiations, the NCIEC said.

Vietnamese representatives from ministries, sectors, and central organizations, led by Tran Quoc Khanh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and Head of the Government Negotiation Delegation on International Economic and Trade Integration, are taking part in the negotiations, according to the committee.

This round of negotiations focuses on existing issues related to accessing the goods and service market, intellectual property rights, investment, environment, state-owned enterprises, law, and bilateral meetings, the NCIEC said.

Since the official 19th negotiating session began in Brunei in August 2013, no formal talks between country leaders have been held to discuss the TPP, except for meetings at lower levels.

The most recent was a meeting between the chief negotiators in Vietnam from May 12 to 15 as a prerequisite for a TPP ministerial meeting in Singapore from May 19 to 20, and then an informal negotiating session in Ottawa, Canada from July 3 to 12. Earlier this year, there was a TPP ministers’ meeting in Singapore from February 21 to 25.

TPP talks have entered their fifth year, with 19 official rounds of negotiations and many small, technical meetings.

Currently, the 12 TPP countries contribute almost half of global output and over 40 percent of world trade, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

Starting with a group of like-minded countries, the goal is to expand the agreement to include countries across Asia Pacific, the USTR said, adding that Vietnam and the U.S. are partners in the ongoing TPP negotiations.

Vietnam and the U.S. held numerous discussions throughout 2011 under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, including a meeting at the ministerial level in May 2011, according to the USTR.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!