PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a slew of funding announcements in Cambodia on Saturday aimed at deepening economic and academic ties with Southeast Asia, after decades of sporadic engagement with the region.
“This is a generational shift,” Trudeau told leaders gathered in Phnom Penh for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“I am announcing concrete investments that are part of our commitment to this relationship,” he said, before listing $333 million in new funding.
He was speaking at an event commemorating Canada’s 45 years of relations with ASEAN, which comes as the group negotiates a free−trade agreement with Canada.
The bloc of 10 countries includes some of the world’s fastest−growing economies, and the Liberals say they want to shift trade away from China over concerns that span human rights to intellectual property.
“There are no surprises; the cards are on the table and our goal is to be present in the region,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters in French.
Trudeau unveiled funding for closer ties in Southeast Asia, spread over the course of five years.
The largest chunk, $133 million, will involve feminist−focused development aid in ASEAN countries, a quarter of which will be earmarked for Canadian civil−society groups.
Ottawa will also spend $84.3 million for a new Shared Ocean Fund aimed at cracking down on illicit fishing in the region, and $40 million for an engagement fund that will help public servants as well as civil society do research on the Indo−Pacific region.
The Liberals are allocating $24 million for a private−sector centre to inform businesses of opportunities in Asia, and the same amount for the Asia−Pacific Foundation to operate an office on the continent. There is also funding to run educational exchanges and to help ASEAN counties partake in trade−deal negotiations with Canada.
Meanwhile, Trudeau’s office said ASEAN granted Canada status as a comprehensive strategic partnership, which is the highest tier of recognition for non−member countries. The United States and India were also granted this status Saturday, placing them alongside previously recognized partners Australia and China.
ASEAN as a bloc already makes up Canada’s sixth largest trading partner.
The majority of the population in ASEAN member countries is under 30, a demographic shift that’s shaping economic opportunities in the region. A rising middle class is boosting countries such as Indonesia and Thailand, while the prospect of cheap labour has companies relocating jobs from China to places like Vietnam and the Philippines.
As for Cambodia, Canada is one of its top trading partners, with bilateral trade amounting to $1.82 billion last year. Some 98 percent of that involved goods Cambodia sold to Canada, such as garments and footwear, in exchange for just $38.5 million in Canadian goods like vehicle parts and artificial fur.
Trade between the two countries has ballooned despite a limited diplomatic presence.
In 2009, the government of then prime minister Stephen Harper closed Canada’s embassy in Phnom Penh. Ottawa cited a “serious examination of Canada’s current diplomatic representation abroad” at the time, but many chalked the move up to budget cuts. The Trudeau government re−established a consular office in the Cambodian capital six years later.
Trudeau met Saturday with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen but made no mention of re−opening an embassy, and Joly was vague on the idea.
“Our goal is to be more present in the region,” she said in English, noting the Liberals have opened embassies in Africa after their Conservative predecessors had closed them.
