National

Trudeau to visit Indonesia, Singapore and India next week as Canada seeks trade deals

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Aug, 2023 10:57 AM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to Asia next week for a whirlwind tour of Indonesia, Singapore and India.

The trip involves the G20 leaders' summit in New Delhi, and a focus on economic ties in booming regions of Southeast Asia, as Canada seeks alternatives to a rising China.

In Jakarta, Trudeau will attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where the group of 10 countries that will ratify a strategic-partnership agreement with Canada.

The next stop in Singapore will involve meeting with the city-state's head of government and business leaders to promote investment in Canada and Canadian exports.

Trudeau will then attend the G20 summit where he plans to focus on collaboration on climate change, reforming international finance for poorer states and energy security.

A news release suggests Trudeau is slated to spend just two days in each country, with a focus on boosting trade and affordability.

Ottawa is in negotiations for separate trade agreements with India, Indonesia and also ASEAN as a bloc.

At the G20, the Liberals say Trudeau will advocate for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine, yet many members of the Group of 20 have opted against criticizing Moscow.

"Working collaboratively to tackle global crises while holding Russia accountable is essential to maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the G20," a Wednesday news release from Trudeau's office says.

The summit's host, India, has been reluctant to discuss the issue in other G20 events this year, and declined request from countries like Canada to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend the summit.

The Liberals are framing the trip around their Indo-Pacific strategy, which they released in November 2022 with the goal of seeking closer economic and defence ties with countries other than China.

Trade Minister Mary Ng is set to accompany Trudeau on the Indonesia and Singapore legs of his trip, but not in India.

That’s a wrap on the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting in India!

Gatherings like these are an opportunity for us to take stock of our shared priorities and address the challenges facing trade today. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/WWgoZtEDd0
— Mary Ng (@mary_ng) August 27, 2023

While here, I also met with business leaders at the Business 20 (B20) in Delhi. From clean tech innovators, to manufacturers, to chambers of commerce, to investment experts and many more, these businesses bring our trade agreements to life. (3/4) pic.twitter.com/2AHC27XiI6
— Mary Ng (@mary_ng) August 27, 2023

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

BC temps to hit 30s this weekend

British Columbia's government is warning that temperatures are expected to reach the high 30s starting this weekend. But Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says a repeat of the 2021 heat dome that killed more than 615 people is not forecast.

BC temps to hit 30s this weekend

Audit finds 800 items missing from Canadian history museum, no plan to deal with it

The auditor's team was particularly concerned that there was no robust way of managing the inventory. The audit found the corporation did such a poor job keeping tabs on those objects that more than 800 were declared missing during inventory inspections between 2012 and 2022.

Audit finds 800 items missing from Canadian history museum, no plan to deal with it

Fire engulfs Surrey housing complex

At least 20 Surrey residents spent the night out of their homes -- and some could be out for much longer -- after flames tore through a housing complex in that city's Clayton neighbourhood. Surrey Fire Service deputy chief Shelley Morris says four homes have been destroyed and as many as four more are damaged after flames from a garage fire spread quickly.

Fire engulfs Surrey housing complex

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and family heading to B.C. on vacation this week

The PMO is not specifying where they will be staying, but says they are set to return to Ottawa on Aug. 18. Trudeau and his wife of 18 years, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, announced last week that they are separating but that they still plan to spend time together as a family

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and family heading to B.C. on vacation this week

Hawaiian wildfires delay flight to British Columbia

A statement from the air carrier said the most recent scheduled flight from Maui to Vancouver was cancelled as access to the airport was closed. It also said a larger, and empty, plane lifted off from Vancouver Wednesday evening, bound for the island, to pick up the stranded passengers and those booked on the next regularly scheduled flight.

Hawaiian wildfires delay flight to British Columbia

Former Conservative senator, longtime politico Hugh Segal dead at 72

In 1962, then-prime minister John Diefenbaker visited Hugh Segal's school in Montreal to present the principal with a copy of the newly minted Canadian Bill of Rights. So impressed was Segal with Dief's description of Canada as a country that was open, free, democratic and based on the presumption of innocence that, at the tender age of 12, he became a lifelong Conservative.