WELLINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership has expanded to 19 members less than a year after its launch, a senior New Zealand official said on Saturday.
South Korea, Peru and Thailand formally joined the FIT Partnership at a ministerial meeting held this week in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city.
"Small- and medium-sized trading nations want practical ways to improve opportunities for their exporters, and they see FIT delivering that," Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay said in a statement.
With New Zealand as a founding member, the FIT Partnership now includes economies from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, including Singapore, Chile, the United Arab Emirates and Norway.
"Working with like-minded economies through FIT supports our exporters, strengthens our trading position and grows our economy," McClay was quoted as saying.
At the ministerial meeting, members committed to practical initiatives aimed at enhancing trade and reducing barriers, said McClay, chair of the ministerial meeting.
Eight countries backed a New Zealand-led declaration targeting non-tariff barriers, which New Zealand estimates affect 9 billion NZ dollars (5.26 billion U.S. dollars) in its trade, according to the meeting outcomes.
New Zealand and other FIT partners issued a ministerial declaration on digital trade, including pilot projects on electronic commercial documentation, McClay said.
Thirteen members issued a ministerial declaration on economic resilience to address economic security risks, while a new work area was agreed to focus on global subsidies, which "distort trade and investment flows, suppress global prices, and disadvantage competitive exporters," noted McClay.
Separately, New Zealand and Singapore brought into force a bilateral agreement on essential supplies, under which Singapore will provide fuel, medicines and chemicals, and New Zealand will supply food, aimed at safeguarding supply chains during disruptions caused by the ongoing Middle East conflict. ■
