Canada setting up Manila office for Indo-Pacific trade
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:17 p.m.) — Canada will put up an Indo-Pacific agricultural office in Manila as it works to increase trade and business partnerships and become the “preferred supplier” in the region.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly last month said Canada plans to have a “stronger” diplomatic presence in the Philippines, which is also at the “core” of its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
“Hosting this new office is an opportunity to build on our economic relationship, and enrich people-to-people ties,” Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canadian minister of agriculture and agri-Food, said in a statement on Thursday.
The Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office is a joint venture between its agriculture ministry and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. It will be staffed by a mobile team that will work with Canadian diplomatic missions and stakeholders.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo recognized that the office "will play a significant role and serve as a staging point for enhancing technical cooperation." It will also help increase agricultural trade activities as well as kickstart more knowledge-sharing programs between the two countries, he added.
"It is envisioned that this recent addition to the Canadian Embassy in Manila, one of the biggest missions of Global Affairs Canada in the world, will help the Philippines meet its food security and resiliency goals," Manalo said in a separate statement Thursday.
Role in Indo-Pacific
Canada's agriculture and agri-food exports in the region reached $21.8 billion in 2022, with a 7% growth in exports seen from 2018 to 2022. Meanwhile, agricultural goods and agri-food imports from the region grew by almost 9% in the same period.
Canada has established trade agreements with South Korea, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam.
“The Indo-Pacific Region presents tremendous economic opportunities for Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector, and the office is another step forward to reaching our goals,” said Mary Ng, Canadian minister of international trade, export promotion, small business and economic development.
The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, which is a coalition of national organizations that represent at least 90% of Canada’s farmers, have expressed support for the establishment of the office in Manila, noting that it would help expand opportunities for them.
- Latest
- Trending
