Trudeau to attend ASEAN summit in Laos, eyeing stronger trade and security ties

Justin Trudeau volition question to Laos aboriginal this week for the ASEAN summit, marking what his bureau says volition beryllium the archetypal authoritative sojourn of a Canadian premier curate to the Southeast Asian country.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings volition instrumentality spot successful Vientiane, the superior of Laos, connected Thursday and Friday, aft which the PMO says Trudeau volition be the 25th gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group astatine the U.S. aerial basal successful Ramstein, Germany.

The ASEAN bloc and Canada person pledged to ink a commercialized statement by the extremity of 2025, and Canada entered a strategical concern with the 10-member enactment of Southeast Asian countries past year.

While enactment towards a commercialized statement continues, Trudeau’s bureau says helium volition besides conscionable with partners astatine the ASEAN-Canada Special Summit wherever helium volition stress Canada’s relation successful addressing caller and emerging challenges to bid and security, including cybercrime.

The premier minister’s bureau says ASEAN, arsenic a determination bloc, represents Canada’s fourth-largest trading partner, with implicit $38.8 cardinal successful bilateral commercialized successful 2023.

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His bureau says Trudeau “will enactment to beforehand shared interests and forge adjacent stronger ties” betwixt Canada and Laos arsenic the 2 countries people 50 years of bilateral relations this year.

“Shared challenges necessitate shared solutions — that’s what the ASEAN Summit and the Ukraine Defense Contact Group are each about,” Trudeau said successful a quality merchandise astir the upcoming meetings.

“Whether it’s warring clime change, creating good-paying jobs, oregon strengthening democracy, Canada is playing a enactment relation successful creating a better, safer, and fairer aboriginal for radical crossed the world.”

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group gathering successful Germany volition instrumentality spot Saturday and volition beryllium hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.

The PMO said Trudeau volition item the value of addressing Ukraine’s contiguous economic, defence and information needs, including the proviso of subject equipment, information assistance and training.