(VOVworld) -  Ministers from 12 countries engaged in a 3-day Trans-Pacific Agreement (TPP) conference that wrapped up on Monday in Sydney, said that their talks had advanced but some contentious issues still remained to be resolved before clinching a deal.

Ministers from 12 countries engaged in a 3-day Trans-Pacific Agreement (TPP) conference

In a joint statement, the chiefs said that they had made significant progress on tariffs and unified trade rules under the TPP initiative. The statement also said that the shape of a TPP deal is "crystallizing," adding they will meet again in Beijing in November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.  While the ministers emphasized advances in the talks, already in their fifth year, Japan and the US failed to reach a much-awaited bilateral agreement, seen as vital to advance the broad 12-country negotiations.