Canada, ASEAN To Expedite Progress On Free Trade Deal, Target To Conclude Pact Next Year

By Maizatul Jamny Muhammad Rosli

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Canada is advancing a new phase of trade, economic and security cooperation with ASEAN nations, including an accelerated effort to conclude a Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement by next year.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the partnership with ASEAN reflects the country’s strategy to diversify its global trade links and deepen engagement in the Indo-Pacific, one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.

“This week in Kuala Lumpur, we agreed to accelerate progress on a new Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement, targeting completion in 2026.

“Yesterday, I met with the Prime Ministers of Laos (Sonexay Siphandone) and Vietnam (Pham Minh Chinh), as well as the President of the Philippines (Ferdinand Marcos Jr), to move those talks forward,” he told a press conference with selected media on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summit here today.

He added that Ottawa’s engagement with the 11-member bloc forms part of a wider strategy that includes cooperation in energy, technology, and security to ensure regional stability and sustainable growth.

On another development, Carney said that Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petronas is already a key partner in the LNG Canada liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, and production is set to double.

“Phase two of this project will double the production, making the project as a whole the second largest LNG facility in the world, creating tens of thousands of new high-paying Canadian careers,” he said.

-- BERNAMA