SUVA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The South Pacific island state of Tonga has withdrawn from the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus), a comprehensive free trade agreement covering goods, services and investment among Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific island countries.

According to Matangi Tonga, Tonga's leading news website on Thursday, Tonga's Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva said the South Pacific island state was no longer a signatory to the regional trade deal because the deal had been found to be inappropriate for his country.

The regional trade deal was inked in Tonga in June 2017 by Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu. Vanuatu also signed the agreement in September 2017.

Currently, Fiji and Papua New Guinea are not members of PACER Plus.