Thank you, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, for the introduction, for your hospitality, and for your leadership in chairing this vital forum.
It is an honour to be here.
I chose this summit to be my first visit to Asia as Prime Minister for a reason.
Like ASEAN, Canada values the rules-based system. We respect trade agreements and the rule of law.
We believe in the value of the free exchange of goods, capital, and ideas.
Like ASEAN, Canada values sustainability and inclusivity in everything we do.
For these reasons, ASEAN and Canada have long been natural partners.
As one of your earliest Dialogue Partners, Canada values ASEAN as the standard-bearer of Asian multilateralism.
And we believe we can dramatically expand and strengthen the links that connect us.
The world is now undergoing a fundamental shift – more a rupture than a transition.
Multilateral trade liberalisation is giving way to transactional and managed bilateral trade and investment.
A new era of Great Power rivalry is emerging.
Technological change is shrinking geography and expanding the fields of conflict to the realms of cyber and space.
These developments are reducing the effectiveness of many global institutions – from the World Trade Organization to the United Nations – on which we middle powers have traditionally relied.
Which means that ASEAN should be ever more important in the decades ahead.
This is the most dynamic region in the world, a rapidly growing $5 trillion economy with nearly 700 million people.
ASEAN is focused on forging new partnerships, catalysing investment, and unlocking new opportunities for nations across this region and throughout the world.
We have all been reminded of the importance of reliable partners – who honour their commitments, who are there in tough times, and who engage collaboratively to fix something that isn’t working.
Canada is such a partner, a dependable partner, and I have come to Kuala Lumpur to say clearly that we want to play a bigger role in this region.
A few days ago, I announced our new government’s ambitious plan to diversify our trade relationships.
While we will obviously continue to trade with the United States, our neighbour and the world’s largest economy, we are embarking on an ambitious mission to double our non-U.S. exports in the next decade.
This will generate over $300 billion more in trade, much of which we hope will be with ASEAN.
So, why Canada?
We border three oceans and enjoy unparalleled trade links with preferential access to over 1.5 billion consumers across Europe, the U.S., and Asia.
Canada is a strong, reliable partner, that has much of what the world wants.
We are an energy superpower, with the third-largest reserves of oil and the fourth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world.
This past June, Canada shipped its first major LNG export to Asia – a milestone in our growing role as a global energy supplier.
And we are making major investments – and streamlining approvals – to scale up quickly. By 2030, Canada can produce nearly 50 million tonnes of LNG each year – with all of it destined for Asian markets. That’s enough to supply the entire consumption of Singapore five times over.
By 2040, that number has the potential to double.
We have an 85% clean electricity grid, which we can readily increase by 50% to power clean manufacturing, AI infrastructure, and the electrification of our sustainable economy.
We have deposits of over 34 critical minerals and are ranked among the top 5 producers for 10 of those that are most essential for the world’s energy transition.
At the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, we launched the Critical Minerals Action Plan to secure reliable critical mineral supply chains and drive investment.
We are part of the solution for food security. Canada is a reliable provider of both quality commodities and technology, bringing new solutions for the domestic nutritional demands of your young, growing populations.
Canadians possess world-class talent, with expertise in clean technology, AI, life sciences, and quantum computing.
For example, we are the world’s number one destination for masters and doctoral graduates – part of the most educated workforce in the world.
Canada has deep expertise and capabilities in financial services, and our pension funds are among the largest and most sophisticated infrastructure investors in the world.
We have over 1,500 firms specialising in AI and the top 3 most cited AI academics.
And we will be quadrupling our defence industrial spending over the next five years and catalysing half a trillion of private investment over the next five years in energy, trade, AI, and beyond.
All of these factors provide numerous opportunities for partnerships.
Last month, President Prabowo of Indonesia and I welcomed an historic free trade agreement – Canada’s first bilateral free trade agreement with an ASEAN partner – reducing or eliminating tariffs for 95% of Canadian exports.
This agreement, and the speed at which we concluded it, reflects the ambition of our new government.
We are bringing that same energy to our ongoing negotiations to conclude a Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement.
Canada will also be pursuing new partnerships in this region in digital, clean tech, and energy.
Because this is the time for us to move fast, together.
To build new connections, to sign deals, and to build stronger economies, stronger nations, and a stronger, more inclusive, and sustainable world.
Thank you.