A leader-level consultation session on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) pact will be held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit as the leaders converge in Peru’s capital this week for the world’s largest regional economic group meet.

Malaysia's Ambassador to Peru Chuah Teong Ban said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who will travel to Lima for the Apec summit on Nov 18, is scheduled to participate in the consultation session initiated by the United States following the recent developments in the country.

The TPPA consultation is scheduled to take place on Nov 19 (Friday) prior to the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting later that day, he said.

“They will have a consultation among themselves on the TPPA. The consultation is, among others, to update on the barriers or progress of the TPPA,” he told Malaysian journalists covering the Apec summit and Najib’s visit to Peru yesterday in Lima.

Apec, founded in 1989, is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote the liberalisation of trade and investment, facilitate business and promote economic cooperation and achieve prosperity among member economies.

Peru, as the host of Apec 2016, has chosen ‘Quality Growth and Human Development’ as its theme.

The Apec economic leaders’ meeting will be held on Nov 19 and 20. Among the programmes outlined include an informal dialogue between Apec leaders and Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, as well as a dialogue between leaders and top Apec CEOs who form the Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac).

Apec’s 21 member economies are Australia; Brunei; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Republic of Korea; Taipei; Thailand; the United States and Vietnam.

“Not all Apec countries are involved in the (TPPA) consultation, only those 12 TPPA countries,” said Chuah.

The TPPA is a free trade agreement (FTA) initiative involving 12 countries - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, Vietnam and Japan.

Chuah said Najib, apart from attending the tight schedule planned for Apec leaders, is also slated to hold bilateral talks with the prime ministers of Australia and Papua New Guinea on the sidelines of the Apec summit.

There is also the possibility that Najib would be meeting Peru President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to further promote bilateral ties in a wider field, he said.

“Our relationship (Malaysia and Peru) has been warm and cordial. We have helped each other in the international arena,” he said.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Peru, with the exchange of visits between senior officials reasonably active over the years, he said.

Malaysia and Peru share commonalities as members in international organisations such as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (Fealac), Apec and TPPA, he said.

It will be Najib’s second visit to Peru for the same reason. His first visit to Peru was in 2008 for the Apec summit when he was the then deputy prime minister.

- Bernama