Trade Minister Todd McClay set to sign three Indo-Pacific agreements with 14 countries

Trade Minister Todd McClay.
Trade Minister Todd McClay. Photo credit: Reuters

The government is set to sign three Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) agreements in Singapore.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will be there for the signing of the documents, will would also be attended by representatives from Australia, Bruni Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

The government said the 14 partners represented in the agreement accounted for 40 percent of global GDP and 50 percent of New Zealand's exports.

Minister McClay would participate in the full IPEF Ministerial meeting which included discussions on a Indo-Pacific wide trade agreement.

The agreements looked at anti-corruption efforts and labour standards across the region along with increased international tax cooperation, the government said.

"The third IPEF pillar focuses on increasing trade efficiency. The negotiation of this pillar presents further opportunities for New Zealand to work with partners to reduce Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and drive greater certainty for exporters," McClay said.

While at IPEF he would also be holding bilateral meetings with Ministers from Australia, Canada, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and the United States.

Meanwhile, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts was also set to travel to Singapore to participate in a Clean Economies Investors forum, including a signing ceremony for the Clean Economy Agreement which looked at mobilising investment in technologies and solutions for energy, industry and transport.

He would be joined by a select group of New Zealand clean tech companies that have been invited to pitch to the region's top investors at the inaugural Clean Economy Investor Forum.

"Workstreams on hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel are among those already operating under the Clean Economy Agreement that have a lot to offer New Zealand," Watts said.

RNZ