VIENTIANE, Laos, Oct. 10,
2024 /CNW/ - We, the Member States of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada gathered in Vientiane, Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic on
10 October 2024, at the ASEAN-Canada
Special Summit on Enhancing ASEAN Connectivity and Resilience, in
support of the priorities of the Lao PDR's ASEAN Chairmanship in
2024;
Recalling the establishment of an ASEAN-Canada Strategic
Partnership on 6 September 2023 and
REAFFIRMING our shared commitment to jointly address new
challenges, including through cooperation in ASEAN-led mechanisms,
such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF);
Emphasising the importance of adhering to key principles,
shared values and norms enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations (UN), the ASEAN Charter, the Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation in Southeast Asia
(TAC), and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS);
Recognising the long history of cooperation between ASEAN
and Canada since the establishment
of Dialogue Relations in 1977;
Noting that both the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific
(AOIP) and Canada's Indo-Pacific
Strategy share relevant fundamental principles in promoting an
ASEAN-centred, open, inclusive, transparent, resilient, and
rules-based regional architecture that upholds international
law;
Acknowledging Canada's
support for ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture,
which underscores Canada's
commitment to regional peace, security and prosperity and to ASEAN
integration and ASEAN Community-building process;
Supporting this year's ASEAN Chairmanship theme of
"ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience";
Noting that Canada, as
G7 president in 2025, is keenly interested in ensuring that its
presidency is informed by the views of ASEAN Member States;
We hereby declare our intention to:
1. Expand collaboration through the
ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership which will include a special
focus in 2024-2025 on ASEAN-Canada digital cooperation, and an
expanded Canadian commercial engagement in the ASEAN region.
2. Build on the Plan of Action to
Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-Canada Enhanced
Partnership (2021-2025) and support the ASEAN Community Vision
2025, ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and its Strategic Plans as well
as the implementation of the AOIP.
Connectivity
Cooperation on Transforming for the Digital Future
3. Strengthen digital cooperation
between ASEAN and Canada, noting
Canada's interest in becoming a
Dialogue/Development Partner of the ADGSOM.
Cooperation on Integrating and Connecting Economies
4. Strengthen economic ties by
increasing ASEAN-Canada trade and investment, including through
Team Canada Trade Missions to the ASEAN region.
5. Promote greater regional
economic integration, development, and resilience, including
through the timely conclusion of an ASEAN-Canada Free Trade
Agreement (ACAFTA) and underscore our shared commitment to a
rules-based multilateral trading system; and achieve fair, open and
free markets, as well as sustainable and inclusive economic growth
and development.
6. Welcome the establishment of the
Export Development Canada office in Jakarta, and planned expansion to other
countries in Southeast Asia,
striving to support Canadian companies doing business in
Indonesia and other ASEAN markets
through direct financing to Canadian exporters and investors and
support local buyers involved in projects with Canadian
content.
7. Welcome the establishment of
FinDev Canada's office in Singapore, which will accelerate the
deployment of the corporation's equity, financing, blended
financing and technical assistance solutions in the region,
enabling sustainable development and inclusive growth through the
private sector.
Resilience
Environmental Cooperation
8. Support ASEAN's objectives to
enhance sustainable development, including strengthening resilience
against climate risks, extreme floods and droughts, including
through relevant ASEAN regional mechanisms, ASEAN centres, and
institutions.
9. Advance ocean management
initiatives in the region, in line with the ASEAN-Canada Plan of
Action, including by supporting ocean and climate scientific
research, promoting biodiversity protection and conservation
initiatives, and monitoring and enforcement capacity.
Food Security
10. Advance technical cooperation by
sharing best practices and capacity building in research and
development on agricultural product and agri-food innovation in the
agricultural sector to support long-term, reliable trade
relationships and a stronger supply chain as outlined in the
ASEAN-Canada Joint Leaders' Statement on Strengthening Food
Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises.
11. Welcome the establishment of
Canada's first Indo-Pacific
Agriculture and Agri-Food Office in Manila which aims to strengthen ASEAN-Canada
cooperation on food security and promote mutual trade objectives in
the agriculture sector.
12. Explore possible cooperation to
promote responsible fishing practices and to combat illegal,
unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Cooperation on ASEAN Centrality
13. Promote maritime security and
safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded commerce,
mutual trust and confidence, the exercise of self-restraint, the
non-use of force or the threat to use force, and the resolution of
disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally
recognised principles of international law, including the 1982
UNCLOS, the relevant Standards and Recommended Practices of the
International Civil Aviation Organisation, and the relevant
instruments and conventions of the International Maritime
Organisation.
14. Enhance cooperation in
maintaining peace, security and stability, and addressing
traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the region,
including maritime security; transnational crime such as
trafficking in persons, people smuggling, illicit precursor and
drug trafficking; non-proliferation and disarmament; cyber security
and cybercrime; international terrorism and violent extremism, with
support from Canada's capacity
building efforts, including through the Anti-Crime and
Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Programs, and in alignment with
the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on
Transnational Crime.
Cooperation on Women's Empowerment and the Women, Peace and
Security Agenda (WPS)
15. Commit to strengthen efforts in
advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda globally,
including through sharing of information and best practices,
enhancing security related cooperation in the context of WPS within
the ASEAN-led mechanisms, launching of a regional WPS initiative;
advancing the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations and
regionally, the 'Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace' initiative
and cooperation with UN Women involving CAD8.5 million to support ASEAN-led efforts to
advance the WPS agenda in ASEAN including support for the
implementation and localisation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of
Action on WPS.
Cooperation on Health Security Initiatives
16. Further promote health security
and health system resilience through ongoing support for the
ASEAN-Canada Mitigation of Biological Threats (MBT) in the ASEAN
Region Program, including supporting the development and
operationalisation of the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Biosafety
and Biosecurity and the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies
and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) and other collaboration to enhance
regional preparedness and response to future health crisis.
17. Further strengthen collaboration
through the ASEAN-Canada MBT in the ASEAN Region Program to enhance
capacities to prevent, detect and respond to all manner of
biological threats, whether natural, accidental or deliberate in
origin.
Cooperation on Disaster Management
18. Enhance cooperation between
ASEAN and Canada to support the
implementation of ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and
Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme (2021-2025) and the next
AADMER Work Programme, as well as strengthen collaboration with the
ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster
management (AHA Centre).
Cross-Cutting Issues
19. Commit to consolidate the
ASEAN-Canada partnership and strategic engagement through more
frequent and meaningful dialogues at various levels. We welcome
Canada's support for ASEAN-led
mechanisms and note its interest in joining the East Asia Summit
(EAS) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus),
subject to these mechanisms' respective enlargement processes.
20. Strengthen Canada's support for ASEAN's increased
engagement with international and multilateral fora, including the
UN, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and G20, and
in Canada's role as G7 president
in 2025 to explore synergies and collaboration with ASEAN as it
adopts the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and its Strategic Plans.
21. Support ASEAN's efforts in
narrowing the development gaps, including through the
implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work
Plan IV (2021-2025) and its successor documents as well as
sub-regional frameworks in the ASEAN region, which would contribute
to promoting sustainable and equitable development and inclusive
growth across the ASEAN Community by aligning sub-regional growth
with the comprehensive development of ASEAN.
22. Recognise the importance of
further enhancing regional connectivity, including through support
for the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity
(MPAC) 2025 and its successor document and the ASEAN Connectivity
Post-2025 Agenda, as well as promoting links and synergies with
other relevant connectivity initiatives through ASEAN's Connecting
the Connectivities approach.
23. As we adopt this Joint Statement, we
task our relevant officials to implement the above initiatives to
complement the programmes and goals identified in the Plan of
Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-Canada Enhanced
Partnership (2021-2025) as well as the Joint Leaders' Statement on
ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership, based on mutual respect, mutual
trust and mutual benefit. We reaffirm our commitment to our
relationship, as ASEAN and Canada
commence negotiations of the next iteration of the ASEAN-Canada
Plan of Action (2026 – 2030).
This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca
SOURCE Prime Minister's Office