U.K., Australia meet to strike trade deal within weeks

In a bid to strike a trade deal within weeks, Australia and Britain held another round of negotiations, the British envoy divulged on Thursday.

As part of its post-Brexit strategy to build stronger commercial and diplomatic ties in the Indo-Pacific region, Britain is pursuing a trade deal with Australia. The deal was believed to have official estimates of around 500 million pounds ($708.4 million) in addition to British economic output over the long term.

British Trade Minister Liz Truss and her Australian counterpart Dan Tehan held talks late on Thursday, to finalize the deal. This is London’s most advanced deal out of several deals being pursued by the U.K.

Member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreed on Wednesday to allow Britain to start the process of joining the trade pact, according to Japan’s economy minister.