The UK will make a formal request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the government has said. Britain’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will speak to ministers in Japan and New Zealand on Monday morning to request to join the free trade pact, with formal negotiations set to start this year, the government said in a statement on Saturday. CPTPP is a landmark 11-country trade deal that includes Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, and Peru. The UK started exploring membership of CPTPP in 2018 in the hope of stimulating exports after Brexit. The announcement of the application for CPTPP membership comes as the UK marks the one-year anniversary of its formal departure from the European Union on Jan. 31, 2020. CPTPP membership is a “key part” of the UK’s plan to position itself at the centre of “a network of modern …