Colombia has expressed wishes to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP).
 
According to Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday, Koji Tsuruoka, Japan's chief negotiator for the trade deal, unveiled Colombia’s intention at a lecture in Tokyo on Monday.
 
The TPP is a multinational trade accord that has 12 founding members: the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.
 
The 12 nations reached an agreement on the world's largest trade accord last October after first launching negotiations in 2010. The deal was officially signed in New Zealand on February fourth.
 
South Korea first showed interest in joining the TPP in November 2013. Though it continued to express such interest after the deal was reached, attention in the matter has currently become unclear.
 
In order to become a new member of the trade partnership, a country must hold individual negotiations with the founding members and be unanimously approved.