21 June 2016 — Senior Officials from ASEAN and Canada recently reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen and deepen cooperation as both sides near the 40th Anniversary of ASEAN-Canada relations in 2017, which will coincide with the Philippines’ Chairmanship of ASEAN. This was a key message that emanated from the 13th ASEAN-Canada Dialogue on 15-16 June 2016 held at Dusit Thani Manila.
During the Dialogue, DFA Undersecretary for Policy and Philippines’ ASEAN SOM Leader Enrique Manalo emphasized that “our 40th anniversary provides us with an opportunity to recognize our achievements and embolden us to be more ambitious. ASEAN and Canada are important to each other. Our economic partnership is expanding at a fast pace with merchandise trade experiencing double digit growth and Canada has welcomed thousands of permanent residents from ASEAN in recent years. In particular, I note that the Philippines is the largest source of newcomers to Canada and almost 700,000 Filipinos now call Canada their home. These people-to-people linkages anchor ASEAN-Canada friendship and have the potential to catalyze new and innovative partnerships.”
The Philippines noted recent efforts by both sides to enhance information-sharing and coordination on Canada’s regional programs, with the aim of improving funding predictability for ASEAN-Canada cooperation. The senior officials had an extensive review of ASEAN-Canada cooperation and both sides agreed to build on existing work on human rights, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development, connectivity and disaster management. Ongoing Canadian support for regional programs in ASEAN now amounts to about CAD 76 million.
Undersecretary Manalo looked forward to pursuing new phases for cooperation on women and migrant workers’ rights. The Meeting noted Canada’s global pledge of CAD 2.65 billion to support clean-energy and environment programs and agreed to explore new cooperation on environment and biodiversity. Canada is also supporting new economic integration initiatives, including the World Economic Forum’s “Grow Asia” Program supporting private sector development in the agricultural sector, the CAD 2 million Toronto Center Program on Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation, and Canada’s CAD 4.5 million contribution to the “Supporting Regional Project Development for ASEAN Connectivity” program.
ASEAN and Canada had an extensive exchange of views on regional and international issues. Both sides underlined the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. They agreed that disputes should be resolved peacefully, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes and without resorting to the threat or use of force, in accordance with universally-recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of dialogue relations, ASEAN and Canada agreed to launch a series of commemorative activities that will enhance the visibility of the partnership, particularly in engaging the private sector and the youth.
The Philippines serves as country coordinator for ASEAN-Canada dialogue relations for the period 2015 to 2018. END
