Thank you for listening to Depictions Media Radio. Welcome to Policy and Rights,
the show about the government, policy and human rights. Welcome back to Policy
and Rights here in Depictions Media Radio. I'm your host, Michael Claude.
And it looks like Canada is going to be joining in with the Asian Economic
Group in order to promote trade agreements and to work more closely with countries like
India, possibly China and other Asian countries that are part of this group to
promote commerce and joint efforts at commerce around the world. We're going to hear
two messages, one from the Minister of Trade and we're also going to hear
from Justin Trudeau as he talks about being welcomed into Malaysia and other Asian countries
as Canada tries to promote goods and services as well as what services and goods
can be sold here in Canada. One of the big things though, is
we start looking at extreme inflation here in Canada and how is the is promoting
ourselves as a great economy to Asia. I'm going to help fix that problem.
Justin Trudeau and his ministers do have that that problem still sitting on their
plate. How do we fix, fix it so that the average person can
afford one housing, two food, three in cases daycare. How is it?
How is this going to make make things affordable? How are we going
to is going to translate so that the average Canadian sees a benefit from it?
So why don't we listen to Justin Trudeau and his Minister for International Trade
speak to what is going on with trade agreements with the Assian nations. Thank
you very much, President Wedogo Wedoto, for you're welcome here to this summit.
As always, the hospitality of the Indonesian people is legendary and much appreciated.
I want to give a shout out and to thank you to Malaysia right
now for your supporting guidance as Canada's country's coordinator here at a SEAN. My
friends, it is a great honor for Canada once again be part of this
summit this year. I've been part participating in Asian summits personally since twenty seventeen.
This is my second time visiting Indonesia in a year, and some of
you may know a number of ministers from our government have been engaged recently in
all of your different countries across the region. Canada and Assayan now count more
than forty five years of partnership and this week marks a historic milestone, as
alluded to by JOCO, the launch of the assay On Canada Strategic Partnerships Strategic
unto Canada Lasi di Udeste. Canada is a Pacific nation. The Indo Pacific
is our neighborhood. This partnership truly matters to us, and Canada deeply respects
the centrality of Assayon to this region. Canada's Indo Pacific strategy and Assayan's outlook
on the Indo Pacific are aligned. We share clear commitments to peace and stability,
openness and transparency, to development and economic cooperation, and to an understanding
that international rules are essential for growth. Canada is committed to increasing our engagement
and being an even more active presence in the region. Last year, Canadian
exports from and imports to Asian increased by twenty nine percent from the year prior.
That's great, but we need to do even more. In the nearer
term. Canada looks forward to concluding a Canada Assayan free trade agreement. In
the longer term, Canada would very much like to join Assayan led mechanisms such
as the East Asia Summit and the Assayan Defense Ministers Meeting plus and in the
meantime, we will continue our support for the Canada Assayan Scholarships and educational exchanges,
the Assay on Canada Plan of Action, and the Women Peace and Security
Agenda in Assayan, as well as for international assistance to eligible Assayan members.
These past years have been difficult all around the world, but they've also shown
us just how interconnected we all are, whether it's because of the pandemic,
natural disasters, or conflicts. We're seeing it with Russia's war in Ukraine,
which is exacerbating challenges like food and security right around the world, including here
in this region. I welcome the release of a joint statement about cooperating more
closely on food security in the coming years. Canada can help in a number
of ways. We can contribute to food and energy security. We're a reliable
trade partner. We can leverage the expertise of our private sector and invest in
growth that benefits all sides, including through technical capacity building. We can work
together to tackle climate change, and we're an excellent investment destination. We've seen
much progress on many initiatives from our Indo Pacific strategy that will bring mutual benefits
for Essay and for Canada. As I mentioned a number of colleagues and friends
that I was coming to Jakarta for the say On Summit, people remarked on
how far away that was and how long and perhaps grueling a travel that would
be to come here. All of you who go the other way to our
time zone in New York regularly know that it is a challenging trip. But
regardless of the geographical distances, these past years have shown us just how connected
and close we all are. Things that happen in any corner of the world
now affect every corner of the world. More importantly, things that happen to
people in any corner of the world have impacts on people in every other corner
of the world. And when we look around at the challenges each of us
face, whether it's from extreme weather events, whether it's from the rapid pace
of technological change, whether it's from conflict or economic insecurity. As families and
communities wonder how long their jobs are going to last, whether there's prosperity for
them, all of us are facing the same challenges. Affordability, concerns about
the future, concerns that maybe the institutions we built over the past decades are
not up to the challenge of meeting the moments of the coming decades. What
citizens need most is stability, reassurance, and the confidence that as changing as
the future is. Together as leaders, we're building a plan not just to
get through it as countries, but to make sure everyone gets through it as
citizens, as people, as families, as neighborhoods, as communities. So
even as we come together here from very different regions of the world, we
do so with common values and a common goal to make sure the promise of
progress that drives all of our countries, the idea that the hard work of
one generation leads to better opportunities and better outcomes for the next generation, well,
to make sure that that promise continues to hold true in an uncertain and
sometimes scary world. So the more we can keep coming together, rolling up
our sleeves and working on our shared problems, the more we're going to be
able to solve them, not just for us sitting around this table, but
more importantly for the citizens at home hoping we're going to make it a bit
better. That's what gathers us here That's why I'm so pleased to be a
strategic partner at essay On, because it means good opportunities here for people in
assay On, but also good opportunities for people back home in Canada. That
is what keeps us moving forward. I know, well you might have to
adjust it for this fellow here, but well, thank you everybody for coming.
And I just I just came back from a meeting with President Weidoto and
our Prime minister. Let me just start by saying how thrilled I am to
be back here in Indonesia. I think the last time we were all here
together, I said I was here sort of, you know, twelve times,
I think right now, sort of a year later, I think now
it's probably fifteen times. So I've been in the region quite a lot,
and certainly some of it here in Indonesia. And and if I were to
characterize sort of what the work has been, the work is really putting into
action Canada's into Pacific strategy. But today in the meeting between the President and
the Prime Minister, we were able to talk about a number of things.
We of course thanked Indonesia for their leadership as being the chair of the asien
and that's something's going to happen tomorrow. Canada as a new strategic partner to
the Asian We talked about how we are deepening trade investment relationships here between Canada
and Indonesia. I'm going to be in the region equally as much. Next
year. We're gonna have five Team Canada trade missions in the region, including
here in Indonesia, and we're opening an EEDC office here. Lots of businesses
who want to come in the region. It's really important for them to get
the export financing that is needed, so we're going to have an increased presence.
We've announced our first ever Canada Indo Pacific Trade representative who will be here
in Jakarta, and of course our Special Envoy for the Indo Pacific in Ambassador
McKay is with me here and we're looking forward to the work that we're going
to do in the region. And why well, this region is among the
fastest growing in the world, the fifth largest economy economic zone in the world,
and it's really important for Canadian companies and exporters to grow in this region
and because when they do, it means good jobs back at home and UH
and the region is important for its economic importance, and Canada wants to diversify
and grow here in this in this region. Maybe the last I'll end with
this fact. Trade with the region between Canada as Yen has certainly grown.
Trade between Canada and Indonesia has grown uh and last year we saw numbers close
about thirty percent increase between Canada and as Yen. So we're really making progress
on that front. So happy to take questions from from you. Thanks here
a bit of a sentiment in this part of the world that Canada was only
sort of investing when it was beneficial for Canada. There was sort of a
hesitation on the part of some of the leaders you, as you mentioned,
have been here quite a number of times over the last few years. Do
you feel that that sentiment is sort of changing? And the follow up is
why does this strategic partnership matter at all? Absolutely that that sentiment is changing.
In this one year, I am seeing momentum, and the momentum is
coming because we're working together. When I was here just two short weeks ago,
it was a meeting of an economic task force that we put together between
Indonesia where we're really looking at what it is that we could be doing together.
And when you look at the investments that we've made in the Indo Pacific
strategy, that's really that's real investments on a whole range of initiatives. I
mean we're opening up an agrifood office in the Philippines as an example. So
these are real, tangible initiatives that Canada is investing and working on together with
Indonesia but also with the region. And I think that that's what they're seeing
and it's because of that that you're seeing Canada being elevated to strategic partner status.
What does it change? What are you going? What does it change?
I mean, we're already a partner. We're already here, mister King's
already here to have that documents sing. What does it actually change? It
is a deepening and a commitment of the relationship between the Asian and Canada.
And when you when you have an aggrifood office, think about Canada and the
farmers and the producers in Canada and think about what they're looking at in terms
of growing into a market like this. This is six hundred and seventy million
people. It is the fifth largest economy in the world. It's five trillion
dollars and what do I have to do working for Canadian exporters and Canadian farmers
and those who are looking to find markets to grow, to grow their businesses
or to do more export. This work creates I always started saying government doesn't
do the business, but we create the conditions, We create the relationships,
and we submit these relationships so that businesses have an easier way of getting into
these markets because we're doing our work government to government. Can you describe how
trade, what this region has grown and what are the sectors where you expect
to see the most or hope to see the most growth in the future.
Well, I just talked about the Agrifood Office, so we're going to have
that out of Philippines, but it's going to be a mobile. It will
be mobile and therefore operating the Philippines but also serve the entire region. There
is there are tremendous opportunities around infrastructure, particularly green infrastructure, because this is
also an area of the world where climate change is having a real impact.
So the opportunities to build together on infrastructure projects, which is why you saw
in the Indo Pacific Strategy seven hundred and fifty million dollars put towards that so
that we can work with countries in the region on a range of infrastructure projects.
We already have technology companies that are here, whether it's an AI or
or you know, just ICT telecommunications companies. Our knowledge of sustainable mining,
for example, is another area that that Indonesia is quite interested in. Valley
operates a pretty big operation here in in Indonesia. We're all working to we're
all working to build the green economy and the green future that is electric vehicles
and and UH and and in the sectors of mining is another area that we
could be that we could be collaborating on. But even you know, I
was looking at the list. I mean, you know, you know,
Lulu Lemmon has a you know, has increase its footprint here in Thailand.
So whether it's retail services to ICT to clean technology to UH to aggrifoods,
it's a range of sectors. But I'm really looking forward next year UH five
Team Canada Trade Missions. I'm going to work with Canadian businesses and we're going
to look at the kinds of sectors who might be interested here and the businesses
and UH and the services that the region is looking for from Canada and uh
and I'm looking forward to bringing here some really dynamic Canadian enterprises, entrepreneurs and
businesses. A question for McKay are you seeing and if you can go to
the mic please sorry, are you seeing Indonesia warm up to Canada specifically Trudeau?
You've got a very warm welcome today at the Palace. Can you speak
to the relationship now compared to how it was? The relationship is terrific and
I think that the Prime Minister is here, ministering is here at really an
historic moment. And it's not just historic because trade with the Assian region is
up twenty nine percent year over year, not just historic because we're negotiating free
trade agreement with Assian and economic partnership agreement with Indonesia. Those are historic moments
and it signifies the warming of the relationship. But as the Minister referenced,
a strategic partnership with Ascian which was enthusiastically endorsed by all member states, on
top of the trade negotiations we're doing, on top of the trade increase here
over a year, there's not a country on the planet who wouldn't want to
be in that situation. We're in a very very special prize situation at this
moment within Asian and with the ind of Pacific. As you will recall,
the ind of Pacific strategy was launched about ten months ago. There's five key
pillars to that, and countries like Indonesia President Wudoto are extraordinarily pleased and receptive
to all five of those pillars. We're talking about security, enhanced trade,
people to people ties, a climate movement, and of course diplomacy, all
of those pillars. Canada is investing extraordinary resources, people, time, money
to build our presence in the region. That is exactly what leaders like President
Udoto want and that is represented in the warm relationship he's developed with Prime Minister
Truth to be less reliant on the US. We're seeing a lot of America
first mentality over there is this part of a plan to kind of diversify more
away from the US. Whoever wants the end well, I think every country,
every company in Canada is always trying to diversify their trade. That's just
a normal thing to do to search out bigger and better markets. The Government
of Canada does more than any government that I know of to facilitate those companies
being able to diversify their trade. This region we're in happens to be the
region with most of the fastest growing economies in the world, twenty one of
the largest thirty cities in the world. This is a place where everybody's going
and I think Canada is so well positioned at this moment to take advantage of
the economic opportunities here. This will resonate for decades and decades. So you
both talked about what Canada can gain from this in terms of access to markets
and the five pillars. What can this region get from Canada. What when
you are selling Canada to them, Obviously it's not just like, hey,
we'd like access to your markets. What do you tell them about how they
can benefit well, I mean the resilient supply chains. Globally, this region
is very keen to work with Canada on the building of those resilient supply chains.
We have one of the largest trading relationships in the world, it's called
North America and U and our ability to work across the globe in this region
with as the ambassador said, some of the large some of the fastest growing
economies and countries, dynamic, digital, and and resilient. I mean I
negotiate trade agreements because it's about creating arrangements and agreements with countries where we will
respect the rules based trading system. And these agreements give us the architecture to
do that and uh and the more we're able to do that, UH,
it just creates greater resilient And they are seeing the resiliency of those apply chains
with Canada through Canada, but through a North American market. And Canada,
I mean, we're the only G seven country with a free trade agreement with
every other G seven country. We're like somewhere in the thirty ish around population,
but we're the ninth largest economy in the world. So when you do
business with Canada, think about doing business with sixty five percent of the world,
because that's what you're doing business with. When you talk about the AGRA
Food Office, which exports are you focusing on? Well? I often work
with the industry and producers on what they are able to produce out of Canada.
So we've got incredible new proteins that are being developed, new kinds of
you know, cereals and agri food pro you know products out of Canada.
We've got a large fisheries industry in Canada, we have you know, we
have resources like potish that's really important and important export to help the agricultu sector,
including here in the Asian. But but I spend a lot of time
talking to Canadian stakeholders in particularly those in agriculture, and and it really is
about how can you know, how can we work together so that what you
are producing in Canada finds its way into into markets like that here in Indonesia.
And maybe one last point on that. I was talking to my colleague
in Alberta the other day and we talked about the importance of their beef industry.
For example, We'll imagine a market of you know, two hundred and
eighty million people here in Indonesia alone, that that is a market access for
some of Canada's terrific, terrific high quality aggrofood products. Well, what are
the fifth falls? I mean, not all the countries in the Asian are
necessarily democratically elected, and not all of them respect human rights the way the
other nations do. So what are the pitfalls we have to be concerned about
while we're trying to get a trade deal with them? I think it's really
important that we focus on doing trade leading with Canadian values. You've seen us
do that in every trade deal, and if you look at the CPTPP or
the newly negotiated KUSMA or our agreement with the European Union, we have key
features in there, and those key features include provisions for labor, for the
environment, for inclusivity, so that as you are growing your economy and you're
growing trade, you're ensuring that everybody benefits from trade. So by that I
mean women, entrepreneurs, indigenous entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs, small and medium sized
businesses. It's not easy for small and medium sized businesses to grow period,
let alone try to grow and diversify into markets that are on the other side
of the Pacific Ocean. But that's our job. Our job is to is
to negotiate agreements that give them the kind of access. If you look at
our agreement with the US and Mexico, there's a very strong and robust chapter
on SIMES. Alone. We're doing We're focusing on SIMES and their growth around
the world and to help them diversify, but it is making sure that we
negotiate agreements that have those comprehensive chapters that look that look after the issues that
Canadians find important. How much are those Canadian values possibly an obstacle to getting
trade deals done, especially with the Asian Group as a whole. Maybe it's
a little bit less of an issue when you're doing bilateral trade agreements, but
when you're doing one of those comprehensive ones. Is that part of the reason
that we're still in talks and we don't have an announcement today of a free
trade deal with the group? Well, trade negotiations are complex and they do
take time. But let me point to the CPTPP and the countries in the
CPTPP. You have a range of countries who also are as the end members
who are part of that high standard agreement, comprehensive agreement, and it took
many years to do that. And we've been at the negotiating table and we're
going to work with the as the Asian countries. We have we have wonderful
tools in the in the negotiating toolkit. Uh some of them are you know,
will help countries develop capacity for negotiating those particular features that may not traditionally
be a part of their trade agreement. So this is something that Canada knows
how to do and have done so we're looking forward to doing that here in
Asian as well. Why don't we pause trade talks with India and what can
we look forward to on that file if any, at the upcoming G twenty
summit. Well, as I said just a moment ago, trade agreements are
complex and there are many there are many things that go into that, and
all we're doing at this point is uh, you know, taking taking a
reflection to take stock of where we are, and and that's what we're doing.
Just one more question for ambassad early fading. Please help us understand a
little bit how the SCN in general see China, the role that China plays
or wish Day did play, and how Canada can can help me. Frons
on death front are not well. Each country and hasse and each country and
the inter Pacific has a unique and separate relationship with China. I don't think
you can define the whole block's relationship. But our role in terms of our
strategic partnership with SCN does a couple of things that mobilizes each of their member
states governments to engage more of Canada, that allows us to engage more in
the region. The end of Pacific strategy is Canada's big as foreign policy shift
in decades to allow Canada to engage in this region of forty countries in a
much more substantive, comprehensive, sustainable way, and through that we are then,
as Canada better able to have a more sophisticated bilateral relationship with China by
being more present in this region. Well, I mean this is this,
Every country in the inter Pacific their biggest trading partner is China. So the
more we're doing in this region on the political front, the economic front,
the trade front, the culture of front, the educational front, gives us
a bigger presence in the region, gives us a little more robust capacity to
deal with all of our bilateral partners in the region. And I think that's
something that Canada will will do well by. The show has been produced by
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