KualaLumpur (VNA) - The Malaysian government will continue tonegotiate the terms of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) until it is satisfied that theywill not be detrimental to the country, said Prime Minister MahathirMohamad.
"Wehave scrutinised the agreement and found many things that aredetrimental to us in our efforts to develop the country,” the PM was quoted by thenational news agency Bermana as saying during a dialogue atthe Congress on the Future of Bumiputera and the Nation on September 1.
Mahathirsaid the government held two meetings with experts in the past twoweeks to determine whether the CPTPP terms were good for the country.
According to the PM, Malaysia is a developing country while several othermembers are developed nations. Therefore, there will be unfair if the sameterms are applied to all members.
He emphasised the need for special treatment to more disadvantaged nations.
“Wehave identified what is bad for us and we need to renegotiatethis provision," he added.
TheCPTPP is a renegotiated trade deal borne out of the Trans-PacificPartnership Agreement (TPP) after the US pulled from the TPP.
Therevised pact was signed by the remaining 11 TPP member states,namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, NewZealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam in March 2018.-VNA
Pacific countries seek to expand CPTPP
Chief negotiators of the 11 countries involved in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on July 18 met in Kanagawa prefecture of Japan to accelerate the completion of domestic procedures so that the deal will come into effect soon.