Overview
- Foreign Minister Anita Anand signed the Canada-Japan Security of Information Agreement in Tokyo to deepen defence and intelligence collaboration with Japan.
- At the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Canada moved to accelerate finalisation of the ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement text that has been under negotiation since 2021.
- The proposed FTA would grant Canadian businesses new preferential access to markets that currently make ASEAN its fourth-largest merchandise trading partner.
- Ottawa is engaging ASEAN partners on energy, food security, the digital economy and artificial intelligence as key pillars of its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
- The urgency of diversification has been driven by US tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium and auto exports, prompting Ottawa to seek new markets.