Australia, Canada, and New Zealand to Discuss Trade, Security at ASEAN Summit

ASEAN leaders take part in the 44th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 9, 2024. Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images

The heads of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand will hold a trilateral meeting aimed at bolstering cooperation on economic and political issues.

It comes as the three leaders visit Vientiane, Laos, to attend the 44th ASEAN Summit.

In a press conference ahead of the meeting on Oct. 10, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the three countries had been working on some “excellent critical minerals initiatives” and maintaining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement involving 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region and beyond, of which Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are members.

According to the Australian government, the CPTPP will aim to reduce tariffs in key areas and streamline trade.

Trudeau also stated that the three countries remained strong security partners as part of the Five Eyes alliance, and were also observing the situation in the Middle East very closely.

“We are like-minded and pushing for de-escalation of the violence, protection of civilians, and humanitarian aid flowing in, and also all of us committed to a path to a two-state solution, which requires a lot of work that we’re continuing to do,” he said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed that the three nations had common interests and shared values, which were reflected in the way they cooperated on many international issues.

“Our economies will benefit from critical minerals, and as much that we’re cooperating on those areas and cooperating in international forums,” he said.

“As three of the Five Eyes partners, we also have an important role to play in national security, and we share our support for democratic values, our support for human rights, our opposition to violence and some of the conflicts that we see in the world.”

Albanese also said the  leaders would continue to engage in international forums with other countries and that he looked forward to the trilateral meeting.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon warned that the world was moving from the rule of law to the “rule of power.”

In addition, he noted that it was important for the three countries to find areas of common interest and strengthen their positions on Middle East issues.

Luxon also spoke about the Indo-Pacific.

“We feel very strongly that our future is in the Indo-Pacific,” Luxon said.

“We see increasingly the issues of security being very linked to economic prosperity and vice versa.”