At the meeting, the countries spoke highly of the positive development of the bilateral cooperation over the time, especially remarkable outcomes in implementing the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-Canada Enhanced Partnership (2016-2020).
They noted that 86 percent of action lines had been carried out through many practical projects meeting ASEAN’s demand, including the ASEAN-OECD project on supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2016-2021, worth 11.9 million CAD (8.92 million USD).
The Canadian side affirmed that ASEAN is a priority in its foreign policy, and pledged to continue its support for ASEAN in the building of the ASEAN Community and implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the Work Plan III of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI Work Plan III).
Canada also expressed its hope to elevate its relations with ASEAN and to join and contribute to regional mechanisms such as the ASEAN Defence Minister's Meeting-Plus (ADMM+) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) for regional peace, stability, security and development.
In the coming time, ASEAN and Canada will tighten cooperation in all three pillars of political-security, economy and socio-culture, focusing on trade-investment, SMEs, disaster management, energy security, transnational crimes, education, promotion and protection of the rights of women, children and migrant workers, among others, through the ASEAN-Canada Plan of Action 2016-2020.
