Amid the threat of an early federal election, the prime minister left Ottawa on Tuesday during a chaotic session of Parliament, making the 27-hour journey to the other side of the world.
After landing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent just under 48 hours on the ground in the Lao capital, meeting with world leaders and announcing a $128 million aid package for the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc.
It wasn’t the prime minister’s biggest announcement, but the dollar figure wasn’t the driving force behind the trip.
Despite everything going on in Parliament House, including MPs launching a new effort to oust Trudeau (this story broke on the prime minister’s flight back to Ottawa), Government officials believed that skipping the ASEAN summit was not an option.
Last year, Canada improved its status in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the first time since becoming a dialogue partner in 1977.
CBC News reports on intensifying efforts to oust Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader as some MPs are asked to sign a tightly controlled document pledging support for a leadership change. I learned new details.
Had Trudeau not appeared at this year’s summit, the federal government might have been accused of disrespecting Southeast Asia. And government officials feared nine years of efforts to improve Canada’s reputation as a reliable partner as it seeks to become a bigger player in the region would be wasted.
“It’s important that Canada actively participates,” said Julie Nguyen, chair of the Canada-ASEAN Initiative at York University in Toronto.
That means flying to Vientiane, Laos, 12,956 kilometers from Ottawa, to reassure Southeast Asian nations face-to-face that the federal government is serious about the strategic partnership that Canada and ASEAN are seeking to promote. she said.
Expanding trade and security partnerships
Prime Minister Trudeau’s arrival in Vientiane marked the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to Laos, a small landlocked country in northern Thailand.
This is also the third consecutive year that Prime Minister Trudeau has attended the ASEAN Summit, and during his speech to world leaders, a panel discussion in front of business organizations, and a press conference where he addressed reporters. This was a point he repeatedly emphasized during his speech.
He also highlighted that Canada-ASEAN trade has nearly doubled since taking office in 2015. Ottawa has launched an Indo-Pacific strategy, saying it aims to strike free trade agreements with Indonesia this year and with ASEAN as a bloc next year. .
Prime Minister Trudeau hopes to maintain this momentum. He announced that the government would launch new trade missions to Thailand and Cambodia. He also announced that $128 million will be spent on various ASEAN initiatives, including security, promoting women’s rights and combating climate change.
But will Prime Minister Trudeau’s job survive in government, faced with the possibility of joining the campaign trail at any time?
That was one of the first questions asked during Friday’s closing press conference before heading to the tarmac to return to Ottawa.
“It’s not a question of ideological choice, like, ‘Okay, let’s get along with Southeast Asia,'” Trudeau said.
“It’s important to understand that this region of the world not only presents tremendous opportunities for Canada, but also for ASEAN with Canada’s involvement.”
The reaction was seen as a sign that Trudeau believes the time spent forging connections with the world’s fastest-growing economy is an investment that will continue to pay dividends beyond its expiration date. It might happen.
Bina Najibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Canada Asia-Pacific Foundation, said Trudeau needs to build on the momentum of the past few years for the strategy to be successful.
“We can’t say, ‘Okay, we’re done. We’re strategic partners…we can stop being careful,'” Najibulla said.
“In fact, it’s time to double down, not walk away.”
5th largest economy in the world
ASEAN consists of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
The bloc of 10 countries, with a population of approximately 700 million people, is the world’s fifth largest economy and Canada’s fourth largest trading partner, with approximately $40 billion in goods passing between the two countries each year. I am doing it.
“We’re doing business with Canada, but we’re actually doing business with other countries,” International Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a pitch to business leaders in Vientiane on Friday.
Mr. Ng held armchair discussions with Ian MacKay, Canada’s ambassador to Japan and special envoy for the Indo-Pacific, and Mr. Trudeau, who tried to sell Canada’s natural resources.
“We have mines that produce critical minerals that are essential raw materials for our future economy and green transition,” Prime Minister Trudeau said.
Whatever happens after the next federal election, the future of Canada’s position in Southeast Asia is uncertain.
Kai Ostwald, director of Asian studies at the University of British Columbia, said ASEAN member states want to maintain a neutral position with China and the United States, their biggest trading partners. He said they don’t need other players on either side of the rivalry to pull them along.
“There is still room for a clearer statement of Canada’s role in the region,” Ostwald said before the summit.
One thing is clear: Canada’s relationship with the region requires serious face time.
For some ASEAN member states, such as the Philippines, Trudeau’s in-person appearances, however brief, seemed to be working.
“The relationship between Canada and the Philippines has never been closer throughout the history of our countries,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday as he greeted Prime Minister Trudeau for bilateral talks.
