By Lee Jon-young
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the ASEAN Summit, held a summit with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sept. 6 and exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Trudeau expressed his appreciation for the dispatch of the Korean Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) to Canada on July 2 to help fight the wildfires. The President thanked the Canadian government and people for their hospitality and support for the team's work, and said that Prime Minister Trudeau's personal visit to the transport plane to see off the team was a symbolic demonstration of the special friendship between the two countries.
The president added that he hopes that the wildfires in Canada will be completely extinguished as soon as possible and that people in the affected areas will be able to return to their normal lives as soon as possible.
The two leaders reviewed the follow-up implementation of the 2+2 Diplomatic-Industrial High-Level Economic and Security Dialogue, the MOU on the Supply Chain of Critical Minerals, the MOU on the Protection of Military Secrets, the MOU on Youth Exchange, and the MOU on the 2024-2025 Year of Intercultural Exchange, which were agreed upon at the May summit, and agreed to continue to develop bilateral cooperation in various fields.
In particular, the President expressed his appreciation for the Canadian government's preferential tax treatment for Korean companies in the electric vehicle battery sector, saying that this support will provide a green light for Korean companies to invest in Canada and contribute to strengthening bilateral supply chain and clean energy cooperation.
Prime Minister Trudeau expressed his encouragement for Korean companies to invest in Canada and looked forward to working together to further strengthen the bilateral trade relationship.
The two countries will continue to communicate closely from time to time and work together for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and to resolve global issues.
