Port Moresby, Nov. 14 (CNA) Taiwan will strive to gather support at this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit for its efforts to join another regional economic bloc, the country's top trade negotiator said Wednesday.
Minister without Portfolio John Deng, head of the Office of Trade Negotiations under the Executive Yuan, said arrangements are being made for members of the Taiwan delegation to the APEC summit to hold bilateral talks with representatives from the countries that are currently members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
In addition, National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling, who arrived in Papua New Guinea earlier in the day for the APEC ministers meeting, said she and Deng will try to lobby representatives of the CPTPP countries at every opportunity on the sidelines of the APEC meetings.
The CPTPP, which grew out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the U.S. walked away from the pact in January 2017, represents a market of 500 million people and accounts for 13.5 percent of global trade.
Negotiators from the 11 signatories to the CPTTP agreed on July 19 to start accession talks with potential new members in 2019, when the free trade pact is scheduled to go into effect.
Apart from Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Columbia, and South Korea reportedly may seek to join.
The current members -- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam -- signed the CPTPP in early March.
The APEC summit is being held Nov. 12-18 in Papua New Guinea.
