The CABC welcomes the Government of Canada’s Commitment to deepen engagement with the Indo-Pacific

The CABC welcomes the Government of Canada’s Commitment to deepen engagement with the Indo-Pacific region and leads a delegation to B20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia

The CABC celebrates the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-Canada dialogue relations and welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement made at the ASEAN-Canada Commemorative Summit on November 12 to commit $333 million into deepening Canada’s engagement with the region. ASEAN and Canada also committed to elevate its relationship to a strategic partnership. This new Strategic Partnership represents a strong endorsement of Canada’s engagement in the region and an important symbolic step to continue deepening our relations with ASEAN moving forward. At the summit, Canada and ASEAN together released a joint statement, highlighting future areas of joint cooperation under the deepening Canada-ASEAN strategic partnership. The CABC believes that this engagement will give Canada an edge when many countries are seeking for deeper ties with the region.

“Canada and ASEAN have a long history of partnership. Canada stands with ASEAN as a steadfast partner, working together to secure an inclusive, strong, and people-centered future. I look forward to working with ASEAN and its Member States, as well as the greater Indo-Pacific region, to grow and diversify trade, create good, middle-class jobs, promote regional peace and security, and build closer ties between our peoples for a safer, cleaner world.” – The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Between November 11th to 15th, the Canada-ASEAN Business Council led a delegation of Canadian organisations together with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to the 2022 B20 Summit Bali, Indonesia.

The B20 is the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community, hosted by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) and driven by the theme of “Advancing Innovative, Inclusive and Collaborative Growth.” The CABC’s delegation was led by President Wayne Farmer, Executive Director Nicky Lung, and the Executive Director – Canada, Thi Be Nguyen.

CABC, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from Manulife, Canovus, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, and Concordia University with H.E. Nadia Burger, Canada’s Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, in Indonesia (2nd from right)

The first engagement in Bali was to attend the B20 Investment Forum, an exclusive networking forum attended by business leaders, high-profile government officials, business associations, and other relevant stakeholders, to connect business communities in G20 countries and worldwide.

Before the official Summit, the CABC and Canadian Chamber of Commerce delegation attended a briefing on Canada-Indonesia relations, hosted by the Canadian Embassy in Indonesia. Afterwards, the parties attended the BloombergNEF Summit on November 12th. The summits connected 300 global business leaders in the energy, transport, government, policy-making and investor communities to explore the growth prospect of the Net-Zero Transition.

On the first day of the official B20, CABC President Wayne Farmer spoke on the panel at a closed-door PwC Leaders Lunch to share his insights on investment into the region’s energy transition alongside key industry players.

Wayne Farmer speaks at PwC Indonesia’s panel, “Leading through Disruption for a sustainable world,” alongside leaders from PwC Australia, the World Bank, and Shell Global.

The CABC participated in the Summit Ministerial Talk on Aligning the Role of Business with G20 Priorities to “Recover Stronger, Recover Together,” where Indonesian ministers including Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, and Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Health, provided their perspectives on the key economic trends driving Indonesia’s future prosperity. The CABC joined them in a discussion on strengthening the Canada-Indonesia relationship and what the next steps are for future collaboration between the parties.

The CABC also conducted a private meeting with Mr. Bambang Susantono, Chairman of the Nusantara Capital City Authority, for a discussion on Canadian involvement in the development of Indonesia’s New Capital City – Nusantara. The CABC was then proud to witness and support its member the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), who signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs): one for a Green Airport with the Government of North Kalimantan, and one for food security with the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises of Indonesia.

CABC and representatives from Concordia University and the Canadian Commercial Corporation meet with Bambang Susantono, the Chairman of the Nusantara Capital City Authority (4th from left)

CABC President Wayne Farmer meets with Roy Gori, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Manulife – CABC’s Patron Member and Sustainability Partner.

CABC Executive Director Nicky Lung, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Hon. Mélanie Joly, and Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, The Hon. Mary Ng, on the last day of the B20 Summit.

CABC’s Executive Directors meet with representatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), including Shinta Kamdani, the Chairwomen of the B20 Indonesia and KADIN’s Regional Coordinator for Asia-Pacific.

The CABC strongly supports Canada’s new Indo-Pacific engagements and as our commitment for continued engagement between Canada and the region, the CABC will host its flagship and largest event, the Canada-ASEAN Business and Investment Forum 2023 in February in Jakarta, Indonesia – next year’s ASEAN Chair. The 2-day event will feature various keynote addresses, panels, and meetings with high-level politicians and business leaders driving Canada’s engagement with ASEAN.