Canada boosts economic ties with Asia-Pacific
The release
said that Minister of International Trade Ed Fast will travel to
Singapore to attend the first Canada-ASEAN Business Council Forum on
October 9 after attending the APEC Ministerial, Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) and CEO summit meetings in Nusa Dua, Bali,
Indonesia from October 3-6.
He said the Canadian
government focuses on creating jobs, economic growth and long-term
prosperity in order to preserve and strengthen the financial security of
Canadians.
“Opening new markets for exporters is key
to these efforts and that’s why I continue to advance Canada’s
interests throughout this dynamic and fast-growing region,” he said.
The minister said that he advanced Canada’s interests in meetings with his TPP and WTO counterparts.
APEC’s
21 member economies are home to almost 2.8 billion people and account
for over half of the world’s GDP and more than 80 percent of Canada’s total merchandise trade.
Twelve countries are currently
participating in the TPP negotiations, including Australia, Brunei,
Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,
Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. The TPP countries
represent a market of more than 792 million people and a combined GDP of
27.5 trillion USD, more than 38 percent of the world’s economy.
ASEAN
comprises 10 countries in Southeast Asia, including major regional
economies such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. In
2012, Canadian exports to the region totalled over 5 billion USD, which
would have made the ASEAN countries, collectively, Canada’s
seventh-largest export destination.
Earlier, Canadian
Foreign Minister John Baird said during the APEC ministerial meeting on
October 5 that the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting offered Canada a
chance to join other APEC members to create an open and transparent
market.
Between October 4-6, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
visited Malaysia, Canada’s second largest trade partner in ASEAN, to
strengthen economic and security cooperation between the two
countries.-VNA