Negotiators from the 11 remaining signatories to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact will hold a three-day meeting near Tokyo next week in pursuit of an agreement by November, the Japanese government said on Tuesday.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted Toshimitsu Motegi, Japanese economic revitalisation minister who is in charge of the TPP trade negotiations for Japan, as saying that the meeting will take place from October 30 in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.

With the withdrawal of the US early this year having prompted proposals to amend or freeze parts of the pact, the 11 countries are aiming to reach a deal in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit starting November 10 in Viet Nam.

The TPP was signed in February 2016 by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Viet Nam, covering around 40 per cent of the global economy before Washington’s withdrawal earlier this year. — VNS