By Prashanth Parameswaran
Canada has stepped up its outreach to ASEAN. Will it last?
Late last month, Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast led a four-day trade and development mission to Laos and Burma. With that mission, Fast has now taken his country’s pro-trade message to all 10 ASEAN countries, as Canada seeks to ramp up its economic, trade and diplomatic ties with Southeast Asian states.
Although Canada has been one of the longest-serving ASEAN dialogue partners, ASEAN-Canada ties have taken off over the past few years. Ottawa appointed an ambassador to ASEAN in 2009, acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2010, and supported the creation of the Canada-ASEAN Business Council in 2012. Aside from Fast, other high-level officials, including Foreign Minister John Baird, Development Minister Christian Paradis, and even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have been making the rounds in Southeast Asia. Last month, Baird announced plans to establish diplomatic missions in Cambodia and Laos as well as one to ASEAN located within the Canadian embassy in Jakarta, which would finally mean a Canadian presence in all 10 Southeast Asian countries as well as within ASEAN as an organization.
The most obvious driver of Canada’s pivot to ASEAN over the past few years is economics. Canada-ASEAN trade has grown by 30 percent over the last few years, reaching around $17 billion in 2013. ASEAN, now Canada’s seventh largest trading partner, is also part of the Canadian government’s Global Markets Action Plan which seeks to create jobs at home by boosting trade with important emerging markets abroad.
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