Joint statement by Minister Ng and Minister van Klaveren
Canada and Chile share a strong trade and investment relationship centered around ensuring that sustainable and inclusive trade creates good jobs and benefits everyone.
Together, we are committed to developing and sustaining innovative, dynamic and green economies that allow small- and medium-sized businesses, particularly those owned by women, Indigenous peoples and under-represented groups, to benefit from global trade.
For over 25 years, our robust economic partnership has been rooted in common trust and confidence. Leading Canadian companies see Chile as a premier investment destination, making Canada the #1 foreign investor in Chile. Likewise, Chilean investments in mining, metallurgical, forestry, transportation, information technology, and tourism have increased. Since the signing of the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), our bilateral merchandise trade has more than quadrupled in 2022, as our economies have continued to grow together. We are committed to strengthening and growing this relationship for years to come.
Recently, our relationship has expanded even further through significant collaboration on trade and investment. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP) entered into force for Chile in February 2023, enhancing our strong and growing trade and investment partnership. We are working together in new areas such as facilitating digital trade and multi-party cooperation on a range of advanced technologies as laid out in the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), and encourage swift and comprehensive negotiations on Canada’s accession to the Agreement.
Our partnership is rooted in common values. We strongly support the rules-based multilateral trading system, including at the World Trade Organization, and will advocate with other countries at APEC, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and other organizations to ensure respect for the rules-based international order.
Our two nations share a commitment to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. We know that when everyone has access to equal rights and opportunities, we can build stronger, more peaceful, and prosperous societies. This is why Canada and Chile, alongside New Zealand and Mexico, are promoting a more progressive vision of trade through the Inclusive Trade Action Group (ITAG). It is vital that barriers and challenges faced by women in trade are removed through cooperation and innovation.
We are looking forward to the upcoming expansion of the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement (GTAGA) to further increase women’s participation in trade and ensure the economic empowerment of women. Over the past four years, we have furthered this shared commitment by implementing the Trade and Gender chapter of the CCFTA to ensure a gender perspective is incorporated into our strong trade partnership.
We believe ambitious climate action is necessary to continue to grow and prosper together. We share a commitment to using sustainable trade in partnership with businesses to reach global sustainable development commitments and net-zero emissions targets. Clean technology solutions drive transformative growth and create valuable, highly skilled and knowledge-based employment opportunities across our countries and economic sectors. Canada and Chile are both committed to further advancing our shared interests in clean technologies in support of our respective economies to achieve our mutual objectives.
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