BANGKOK: With the aim of boosting trade relations with Southeast Asia, Canada's Trade Minister Ed Fast left for a four-nation visit to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar on Sunday. It will be the first visit by a Canadian trade minister to Myanmar, which only recently opened up to the world after years of closure. The minister hopes the visit will boost relations with the region as Canada looks to spur trade between it and the fast-growing region. Fast will also co-chair the first Canada-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economic ministers' meeting in Cambodia. “This year, as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of relations between Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, we are committed to moving our trade and investment relationship with Asean forward,” Fast said in a statement ahead of his departure. “In what remains a fragile global economic climate, our government will continue to ensure that Canadian businesses have access to priority markets. That is why we continue to pursue deeper ties with the world's largest, most dynamic and fastest-growing economies, as part of the most ambitious trade expansion plan in Canadian history,” he said. He argued that one in five of all Canadian jobs was generated through trade and he hoped that by expanding the market for Canadian companies in the region, it can help boost the government's Economic Action Plan. The ASEAN region is Canada's 7th largest trading partner, the ministry said as Fast left for the region. It said that in 2011, “annual merchandise trade between Canada and Asean reached $15.5 billion, a 17 percent increase from 2007.” “Canadian companies can help anchor development and reforms in developing countries that want and need Canada's world-class products, services, experience and expertise,” the minister said.
