Tuesday marks the arrival of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in South Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol as the two nations work to further their collaboration in the areas of security and vital minerals used in batteries.
Wednesday’s events include a summit, a joint news conference, and an official supper, according to Kim Tae-hyo, Yoon’s deputy national security advisor.
The 60th anniversary of bilateral relations will be marked by Trudeau’s visit, the first by a Canadian leader in nine years. Both sides will release a joint statement outlining their relationship for the following 60 years, Kim added.
The two US allies have been exploring ways to deepen cooperation on critical minerals used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries and step up intelligence sharing.
“The two leaders will discuss intensively on ways to build a norms-based global order including on North Korea’s human rights issues, launching a high-level economic and security dialogue, strengthening cooperation on key minerals,” Kim told reporters.
Yoon and Trudeau will sign an agreement on key mineral supply chains, clean energy conversion and energy security cooperation, a South Korean government official told Reuters, requesting anonymity as the deal was not finalised.
Canada has been trying to scale up EV production, with ample mineral reserves, including lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are used to make batteries for those vehicles.
The two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation on minerals supply chains when they met last September, as part of efforts to cut emissions to fight climate change.
The two countries have also sought to step up security cooperation including intelligence sharing, while navigating an intensifying rivalry between the United States and China.
Diplomatic tensions between Canada and China have been running high since the detention of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 and Beijing’s subsequent arrest of two Canadians on spying charges.
Last week, China expelled a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa told a Toronto-based Chinese diplomat to leave.
Yoon has trodden cautiously with China, South Korea’s largest trade partner, but he has been more vocal over tension in the Taiwan Strait. Last month Seoul and Beijing exchanged harsh words over Yoon’s comments in an interview with Reuters.
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