Buenos Aires (VNA) – Canada, New Zealand and Chile made a jointstatement on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Chile on March 8(local time), vowing to intensify cooperation within the agreement framework.

Canada's Minister of International Trade Francois-PhilippeChampagne, New Zealand's Trade Minister David Parker and Chile's ForeignMinister Heraldo Munoz highlighted the importance of establishing politicalunderstanding to jointly deal with CPTPP-related issues for the interests ofeach country’s people.

They also committed to strengthening a mechanism to addressdisagreements between investors and the State, especially those in publicpolicy.

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Heraldo Munoz stressed that trade liberalisation isimportant, but its benefits have to reach all people to help reduce inequalityand poverty, while boosting the interests of big enterprises.

He also called for more opportunities created for women,ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups in the community.

Meanwhile, Champagne and Parker emphasised the importance ofturning the agreement into a model of international cooperation, not only intrade but also in other fields such as climate change and environmentalprotection.

The official signing of CPTPP took place in Santiago deChile on March 8 (local time), with the participation of representatives from11 member countries, namely Chile, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico,Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

CPTPP was launched a year ago after the US withdrew fromthe Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

The content of CPTPP was basically unchanged from the original TPP with8,000 pages, except for the suspended implementation of 22 provisions mainlyrelated to intellectual property. It sets high criteria in numerous fields,including labour, the environment, intellectual property, digital economy andcyber security.

The official signing of the pact will facilitate the promotion ofeconomic growth and job generation, poverty reduction, and improvement ofpeople’s living conditions. With its commitment to market opening, CPTPPdelivers a strong message against protectionism, while proving that an openingeconomy will benefit member nations, according to experts.

 The pact will create one of theworld’s largest free trade blocs with a combined market of 499 million peopleand GDP of around 10,100 billion USD, accounting for 13.5 percent of the globalGDP.

The pact will come into force 60 days after it is fullyratified by at least six of the 11 members. -VNA