Canadian trade minister visits Indonesia

JAKARTA: Canadian International Trade Minister Edward Fast visited Indonesia on Sunday and Monday to strengthen trade and investment partnerships between Canada and ASEAN as the two would celebrate 35 years of friendship in 2012.

“We see enormous opportunity in ASEAN. It’s a region with a growing middle class and abundant natural resources – an increasingly integrated region that is attracting trade and investment from around the world,” Fast said Sunday.

Indonesia was chosen to host his visit to Southeast Asia region as Indonesia currently holds the ASEAN chairmanship.

Fast said that last year, bilateral trade with ASEAN reached C$13.8 billion (US$13.16 billion), more than its investment in China and India combined. That makes ASEAN Canada’s seventh-biggest trading partner.

The official partnership was marked by the adoption of the ASEAN-Canada Joint Declaration on Trade and Investment on Sunday between Fast and his Indonesian counterpart Mari Elka Pangestu.

The joint declaration included four objectives: Enhancement of economic relations in the areas of goods and services trade, involvement of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), greater coordination in the WTO and APEC, and regular exchanges of information on trade and investment opportunities.

On Tuesday, Fast attended an opening ceremony of PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife’s (AJM) new marketing office at Plaza Kuningan.