TPP has momentum says Prime Minister

"The Trans-Pacific Partnership is clearly where the action is on Asia-Pacific trade," says Prime Minister John Key.

Mr Key was commenting after a meeting of leaders from the nine TPP countries in Yokohama, Japan, today on the margins of the APEC summit.

The nine countries currently in the TPP are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

"TPP has momentum. Viet Nam's President has announced they will become a full participant in the negotiation, Malaysia has just joined the group, and Japan's Prime Minister Kan, who signalled strong interest in TPP at APEC, sat in on our meeting today," says Mr Key.

"It was clear from today's discussion that the nine leaders are strongly committed to TPP as a way to accelerate integration in our region.

"This is about growth and about jobs.  Our ultimate goal is a region-wide free trade deal."

New Zealand hosts the next round of TPP negotiations in Auckland from 6 December.

"We want the Auckland round to deliver a strong platform for the intensive negotiations scheduled for 2011," says Mr Key.