Malaysia was a hive of regional diplomacy this week. As this year’s chair of ASEAN, Kuala Lumpur hosted meetings of the bloc’s foreign ministers and dialogue partners — including Canada, China, and the U.S. — as well as the East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Canada’s new foreign affairs minister, Anita Anand, is set to attend these events. She will also hold bilateral meetings with her ASEAN counterparts, with the exception of Myanmar, and with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China, another ASEAN dialogue partner.
Anand preceded her visit to Southeast Asia with a stop in Japan on July 8 to meet her Japanese counterpart, Iwaya Takeshi. It was her first bilateral visit to the Indo-Pacific as foreign minister; she noted in a statement that Japan was an important strategic partner for Canada. During the visit, the two sides signed the Canada-Japan Security of Information Agreement, “which will deepen [their] defence and security collaboration.”
A highlight of her trip will be the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference Plus Canada, which will focus on the progress made through the ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership. APF Canada, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, is hosting a stakeholder meeting on the sidelines of these events on bolstering trade and investment and securing preferential access to regional markets.
