CABC Overview

The Canada-ASEAN Business Council

Headquartered in Singapore, the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) was established in 2012 by Canadian private sector companies operating in ASEAN, at the request of Canada’s Minister of International Trade through Global Affairs Canada, at the first ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) consultation with Canada in Cambodia. It is the pre-eminent organisation with an ASEAN region-wide mandate to promote and increase trade relations between Canada and ASEAN.

As the voice of the private sector, the mission of the CABC is to facilitate increased trade and investment in the Canada-ASEAN economic corridor through policy advocacy, networking, and education. The CABC currently represents over 80 leading companies doing business or investing between Canada and ASEAN.

Since its founding, the CABC has produced numerous key initiatives to enhance outcomes for Canadian businesses in the region. These include the production of an Opportunities Study for Canadian Companies, and Canada-ASEAN Business Outlook Surveys to better understand the obstacles of doing business in the region. The CABC has also jointly produced a first-of-its-kind report detailing the specific economic benefits Canada and ASEAN could expect from a free-trade agreement between the regions (2017), and a report detailing the specific benefits to ASEAN member-states (2018) from a free-trade agreement, and often collaborate with leading universities and think tanks to advance commercial ties between the two regions.

The CABC hosts market-specific and sector-specific events, in addition to major events including the Canada-ASEAN Business Forum. Events are held across ASEAN and Canada on a regular basis, always in response to the specific business needs of our Members.

CABC membership includes leading Canadian enterprises active in ASEAN and is open to companies conducting business or considering doing business between Canada and the ASEAN region. The CABC is headquartered in Singapore and has a representative office in Montreal, Canada

Key Goals of the CABC

We educate our members and stakeholders about Canada-ASEAN trade and its many opportunities, by providing region and industry specific resources to help companies make the right decisions at the right time.

ASEAN consists of 10 nations all with unique challenges and opportunities. We work closely with these governments to represent our members’ interests and concerns as well as provide a platform through which to enact change. In addition to the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN regional governments, the CABC enjoys a productive relationship with key decision makers in the Canadian provincial and federal governments.

CABC creates, maintains, and grows commercial interests within the Canada-ASEAN economic corridor. To this end, we work towards providing high-quality networking events with the intention of providing our members with concrete opportunities to build and grow their organizations.

The CABC is a registered not-for-profit Society in Singapore and a Federal not-for-profit organisation in Canada.

For more questions on the CABC, please visit our contact us page.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.

AIMS AND PURPOSES

As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:

1

To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;

2

To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;

3

4

To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;

5

To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;

6

To promote Southeast Asian studies; and

7

To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.