Vietnam proposes to establish CPTPP Support Unit

(Chinhphu.vn) - Ministers and senior officials also listened to Vietnam present its organization plan and priority areas for promotion in 2026 when Vietnam is the Chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Council. In particular, the initiative to establish a CPTPP Support Unit proposed by Vietnam to solve the resource problem for CPTPP was highly appreciated and unanimously supported by members.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien attended the meeting.

From November 20-21, 2025, the 9th Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans -Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Commission Meeting and a series of related events were held in Melbourne, Australia.

The meeting was attended by Ministers and senior officials from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. The Vietnamese delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Public Security and units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, headed by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.

During the meeting, the Ministers and senior officials spent time discussing and agreeing on many important contents including: Reviewing and identifying the contents that need to be negotiated for upgrading; negotiating Costa Rica's accession; considering starting the accession negotiation process with a number of economies; assessing the implementation situation and a number of related issues. The Ministers and senior officials also listened to Vietnam present its organization plan and priority areas for promotion in 2026 when Vietnam is the CPTPP Chair. In particular, the initiative to establish a CPTPP Support Unit proposed by Vietnam to solve the resource problem for CPTPP was highly appreciated and unanimously supported by the members.

Vietnamese delegation attends the meeting

At the end of the meeting, the Ministers and senior officials adopted the Joint Statement of the 9th CPTPP Council and assigned technical levels to promptly implement the contents stated in the Joint Statement, and decided to initiate accession negotiations with Uruguay and will initiate negotiations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Philippines and Indonesia in 2026 when appropriate.

On the sidelines of the Council meeting, trade and investment dialogue sessions between CPTPP and the European Union (EU), between CPTPP and ASEAN were held. This is an initiative to promote connectivity between member economies of CPTPP, EU and ASEAN to take advantage of potential and cooperation opportunities in the context of unpredictable fluctuations in the world economy and global trade.

The Vietnamese delegation led by Minister Nguyen Hong Dien actively participated and made many important contributions, which were recognized and highly appreciated by the countries, contributing to the overall success of the meeting. In addition, the Minister also had bilateral meetings with New Zealand, Japan, the UK and the EU to discuss issues of mutual interest as well as promote economic and trade relations between Vietnam and these partners.

The 10th CPTPP Ministerial Council meeting will be held in 2026 with Vietnam as Chair and Australia and Peru as Vice Chairs.

The CPTPP Agreement is the first new generation FTA that Vietnam has joined. To date, the CPTPP Agreement has 12 members, including: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

On the Vietnamese side, the CPTPP Agreement has helped import and export activities between Vietnam and other CPTPP members grow strongly. As of October 2025, the trade turnover between Vietnam and CPTPP members (including the UK, as the new Agreement will take effect with this country on December 15, 2024) reached 102.8 billion USD, an increase of 20.6% over the same period; of which, Vietnam's exports reached 58.3 billion USD, an increase of 26% and imports reached 44.5 billion USD, an increase of 14.47% over the same period.

Anh Tho

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/viet-nam-de-xuat-thanh-lap-bo-phan-ho-tro-cptpp-102251121144317973.htm