Canada and ASEAN elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2022 and are currently negotiating a ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA). As Canada looks to diversify beyond the U.S. and deepen its Indo-Pacific ties, ASEAN—home to over 670 million people—is central to Canada’s long-term economic and strategic interests.
This timely discussion will explore how Canada can align more closely with the priorities of Malaysia (ASEAN Chair in 2025) and the Philippines (Chair in 2026), and how those priorities can be leveraged to advance the Strategic Partnership and ACAFTA negotiations.
This event is organized in co-ordination with the visit of two distinguished experts on Southeast Asia:
- Richard Heydarian, Senior Lecturer in International Affairs at the University of the Philippines Asian Center and Visiting Scholar at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
- Dr. Tricia Yeoh, Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Nottingham Malaysia and Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
To RSVP, please register through this link.
Due to limited capacity, registration will be confirmed via email by the organizing team.
Speakers:
- Richard Heydarian, University of the Philippines Asian Center; APF Canada Visiting Scholar
- Dr. Tricia Yeoh, University of Nottingham Malaysia; APF Canada Senior Fellow
- Kai Ostwald, HSBC Chair and Director, Institute of Asian Research, UBC; APF Canada Senior Fellow (Discussant)
- Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada (Moderator)
We hope you can join us for this important conversation on the future of Canada–ASEAN relations.
