(VOVworld) – Negotiators of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement began a new round of technical talks in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday.  The meeting aims to reach a deal ahead of a ministerial meeting scheduled for next week in Singapore. Luong Hoang Thai, Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, said 12 chief negotiators will divide into smaller groups to attend the week-long meeting. They will discuss the opening of the commodity market and services as well as pending issues from previous talks- investment, the environment, labor, and intellectual property rights. Thai said participating countries will hold bilateral negotiations within the framework of the TPP talks. Earlier, the Multilateral Trade Policy Department reported that EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht had visited Vietnam to boost the negotiations and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the EU.