Creating opportunities for Canadians and advancing collaboration with APEC partners

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 17, 2023 /CNW/ - Free and open trade is key to creating good, middle-class jobs and new opportunities for Canadian businesses. At this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting, Canada deepened ties across the region to deliver growth for people on both sides of the Pacific.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today concluded his participation at the APEC Leaders' Meeting, in San Francisco, United States of America. Under the theme of "Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for all", leaders from 21 partner economies came together to advance economic co-operation. Nearly one year since the launch of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, the meeting was an important forum to deepen Canada's collaboration with regional economies on supply chain resilience, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, digital trade, and economic security.

Throughout the APEC Leaders' Meeting, the Prime Minister positioned Canada as a reliable trade partner and a destination of choice for investment, including on agriculture, clean energy, and artificial intelligence (AI). On the margins of the meeting, the Prime Minister also met with Canadian and American leaders from business and the AI fields. To strengthen Canadian leadership in technology, a multi-million-dollar agreement between BlackBerry and the Government of Malaysia was signed on the margins of APEC. BlackBerry's world-class Canadian technology was chosen to provide services and infrastructure that will help develop Malaysia's cybersecurity capacity and ability to counter and deter cyber-based threats.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister raised with fellow leaders global issues including Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war in Ukraine and the ongoing situation in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

While in San Francisco, the Prime Minister convened a roundtable of Canadian innovators, global tech leaders, food producers, and logistics suppliers to discuss lowering food costs for consumers and increasing agricultural supply chain resilience. The Prime Minister also met with the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom to discuss shared priorities including fighting climate change while growing strong economies and making life more affordable for the middle class.

"From AI, to clean energy, to agriculture, the world is looking to Canada as the place to do business. When we make sure that our partners in the Asia-Pacific can invest in Canada, and that Canadian companies can do business in the Asia-Pacific, we create middle class jobs and grow sustainable economies. By working together, we build a stronger, healthier future for people on both sides of the Pacific."

? The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

• While in San Francisco, the Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Japan, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, Mexico, and Malaysia.
• Encompassing 40 economies, more than four billion people and $47.19 trillion in economic activity, the Indo-Pacific is the world's fastest growing-region and home to six of Canada's top 13 trading partners.
• Since the launch of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy in 2022, we have made significant progress in its implementation, such as:
• Announcing the new Canada-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, a key milestone in our efforts to strengthen relations with Southeast Asia;
• Appointing a Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific, Ambassador Ian McKay, in April 2023, and a Canadian Indo-Pacific Trade Representative, Paul Thoppil, in September 2023. These senior-level officials will play a critical role in advancing Canada's interests in the region; and
• Under the Strategy, Canada has also recently signed a five-year agreement with the Philippines to provide Canada's Dark Vessel Detection system which offers state-of-the-art remote sensing technologies to heighten the Philippines' maritime domain awareness and support their efforts to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing within their sovereign waters. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will deploy the system to multiple monitoring facilities in the Philippines as of November 20, 2023.
• As a leader in climate change mitigation, green technologies, and the promotion of biodiversity, Canada is proud to champion the APEC Bio-Circular-Green Award and to have contributed US$45,000 toward this initiative which seeks to recognize distinguished individuals and organizations that have advanced sustainable and inclusive growth.
• On the margins of the APEC meeting, the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng, marked the launch of the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement Partnership Council, which will facilitate cooperation among participating economies, with the objective of identifying and removing barriers for Indigenous Peoples' economic empowerment and participation in trade.
• In June 2022, Canada and California announced a Climate Action and Nature Protection Partnership, which was supported by the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) between Environment and Climate Change Canada and California's Environmental Protection Agency. The 2022 MOC provides a framework for deeper exchange and technical co-operation on a broad range of climate and environmental priorities.

• Prime Minister to travel to San Francisco and attend APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

• Canada and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
• Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy
• Canada-United States relations
• Climate Action and Nature Protection Partnership
• Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement

This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office