Close X
Monday, December 2, 2024
ADVT 
National

Global, economic security top priorities as Trudeau heads to South Korea, G7 summit

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 May, 2023 10:58 AM
  • Global, economic security top priorities as Trudeau heads to South Korea, G7 summit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to leave Monday for a weeklong trip to Asia, where he will make his first official visit to South Korea and attend the G7 leaders' summit in Japan. 

The trip comes at a time when the world is collectively facing security threats and economic uncertainty magnified by climate change. 

The prime minister is expected to be in Seoul between May 16 and May 18, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Ottawa last fall. Since then, both countries have released their Indo-Pacific strategies, plans that aim to counterbalance Chinese influence by increasing economic and military ties in the region.

Trudeau is also scheduled to attend the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, Japan, between May 19 and 21. 

As G7 host, Japan says it chose to have the summit in Hiroshima to symbolize its "commitment to peace" during a time of growing risk of weapons of mass destruction and an ongoing war in Ukraine. 

The United States dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. It dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing 70,000 more. 

While in Seoul, Trudeau is expected to attend a ceremony to open the Kapyong Battle Commemorative Trail, meant to honour Canada's contributions during the Korean War. 

He is not expected to visit the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. 

Leaders of G7 countries — Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan — meet annually to collaborate on shared goals. This year's summit will focus on seven main agenda items, including geopolitical and global security issues, economic resilience, and climate change and energy. 

"I think it's going to be one of the most successful summits ever since they started in 1975," said John Kirton, a political science professor who heads the G7 research group at the University of Toronto.

"Because never before has a G7 summit faced so many big, interconnected global crises all at once."

As they reflect on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, face an uncertain economic outlook and work to avoid a climate crisis, Kirton says the G7 leaders have no shortage of issues to tackle.

One of Canada's top priorities will be strengthening ties between the allied countries to address these converging challenges. Canada is expected to seek the G7 members' co-operation on providing ongoing support to Ukraine as well as addressing climate change.

The Liberal government is investing heavily in the green economy transition, arguing that promoting cleaner sources of energy and technology will bring economic prosperity to the country while curbing the risk of catastrophic climate change. 

In a statement Trudeau provided to Kirton's group before the summit, the prime minister links addressing climate change with increased security.

"The clean economy presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only keep 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming within reach and to avert the worst impacts of climate change, but also to create and secure good, middle-class jobs for our people and grow our economies," Trudeau wrote.

"When we cut emissions we can drive economic growth and build new strong, reliable supply chains that reduce our reliance on raw materials and components from countries such as China and Russia, too. This is economic policy, it is climate policy and it is security policy."

The clean economy transition is also expected to be the focus of Trudeau's visit to South Korea. 

In an interview with The Canadian Press, South Korea's ambassador to Canada, Lim Woongsoon, said it will be at "the top of the agenda." Lim said South Korea is interested in increasing business ties in areas such as clean fuel and critical minerals.

"Canada can be a very ideal partner for Korean companies to manufacture electric vehicle batteries and battery components," he said.

The trip comes as Canada attempts to strengthen its relationships with Japan and South Korea, which are longtime allies and trading partners. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has said the relationship with each is so natural that Ottawa has at times taken it for granted, but that global instability is a time to shore up these bonds.

"We want to be as close to Korea, to Japan as (we are) to Germany, France and Great Britain; that's our goal," Joly said last December.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Langara College exposer Christopher Ram pleads guilty to indecent act

Langara College exposer Christopher Ram pleads guilty to indecent act
Christopher Ram, 36, pleaded guilty to the March 27, 2022 offence, as well as another indecent act that occurred April 17 at Foster Park, near Kingsway and Boundary Road. 

Langara College exposer Christopher Ram pleads guilty to indecent act

Lone male barricades himself in a residence with reported weapons: Burnaby RCMP

Lone male barricades himself in a residence with reported weapons: Burnaby RCMP
Attempts to negotiate and deescalate the situation were unsuccessful, and shortly after 11:40 p.m. the male attempted to lower himself from a third story window. He was arrested at ground level with the assistance of a police dog and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. 

Lone male barricades himself in a residence with reported weapons: Burnaby RCMP

Police seek suspects who rammed an occupied Police vehicle

Police seek suspects who rammed an occupied Police vehicle
The suspects are believed to be driving a grey newer-model Toyota Tacoma with significant front-end damage. The vehicle was last seen driving west-bound on Pitt River Road in Port Coquitlam. The officer was transported to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police seek suspects who rammed an occupied Police vehicle

B.C. advocates cheer free contraception plan

B.C. advocates cheer free contraception plan
The new program set to take effect April 1 will cover prescription contraception options, including most oral hormone pills, contraceptive injections, copper and hormonal intrauterine devices and subdermal implants, along with so-called Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill.

B.C. advocates cheer free contraception plan

House Republicans launch northern border caucus

House Republicans launch northern border caucus
The new 28-member Northern Border Security Caucus is focused exclusively on what it calls a badly under-resourced, largely unnoticed national security concern that just happens to be the longest international border in the world.    

House Republicans launch northern border caucus

B.C. budget forecasts years of deficits

B.C. budget forecasts years of deficits
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy said the government plans to invest in people during uncertain times, despite a deficit projection of $4.2 billion in 2023-2024, and $11 billion over three years.

B.C. budget forecasts years of deficits