INTERVIEW Canadian foreign minister highlights importance of Indo-Pacific
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Canadian Embassy in central Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly emphasized that Canada is a Pacific country and part of the Indo-Pacific community during her trip to Korea and Japan, as Canada shifts its attention to the Indo-Pacific region and develops its Indo-Pacific strategy.
"For a long time, we've defined ourselves through the transatlantic relationship, which we value, and we'll continue to have strong ties to Europe. But we're also an Arctic and a Pacific country. So in that sense, we are finalizing the Indo-Pacific strategy right now," Joly said at an interview with The Korea Times at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul, Thursday evening.
She emphasized that Canada wants to be a reliable partner as a member of the Indo-Pacific region.
"Our goal is really to play a bigger role in the Indo-Pacific, because we know that the future of the world is linked to what will happen in this very important region of the world,” Joly said.
During her trip to Northeast Asia, Joly first visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Oct. 9 and headed to Busan on Oct. 10 to meet Canadian Armed Forces members aboard His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Vancouver, a Canadian frigate deployed on Operation NEON, monitoring the U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea.
Then she flew to Japan to meet her Japanese counterpart, before returning to Korea to hold a meeting with Korea's foreign and unification ministers as well as Ban Ki-moon, president and chair of the Global Green Growth Institute, Friday.
The country-hopping schedule came out of her intention to encourage Canadian sailors on the occasion of Canadian Thanksgiving, which fell on Oct. 10 this year.
"We wanted to spend Thanksgiving with the troops, who are far from home and have left Canada since June. They just came out of the Taiwan Strait and their work is to enforce the U.N. Security Council sanctions against the DPRK... So it's really a question of Thanksgiving in Canada," she explained.
Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Canadian Embassy in central Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
She said the visit to the DMZ reminded her of the importance of security in the Indo-Pacific region and Canada's commitment to it.
"I would say it was historic for me, in the sense that I've read it in the papers, I've heard about it in the news (and) I've followed the history of the conflict," she said.
"Now it was important for us to state that we believe in multilateralism and we believe in the U.N.'s work. In a world of growing tensions, we need more multilateralism and we need to play a bigger role in the region.”
Joly noted that Canada is a "diplomatic powerhouse" and wants to use this power to defend the rules-based international order.
"It doesn't matter whether you're a big country or a small country. You need to abide by the same rules. In that context that we decided to go to the DMZ to send a strong message about this vision."
Canada strongly condemned North Korea's launch of ballistic missiles, which Foreign Minister Joly said Canada did "because it is the right thing to do."
"We have a very precise, principled foreign policy and we believe that rules must be abided by the countries. So for us, it is important that we participate in the enforcement of the rules. That is our approach when it comes to the U.N. Security Council sanctions and having frigates and military assets here to enforce them," she said.
"That's our vision about supporting ― at the U.N. in New York ― anything South Korea's doing to seize the Security Council on this issue. That's the only way forward.”
Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, left, shakes hands with Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, during their meeting at the Government Complex Seoul in Gwanghwamun, Friday. Joint Press Corps
Future partners in tech, energy
During her visit, Joly also discussed the comprehensive strategic partnership between Korea and Canada, which was upgraded recently during Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's summit talks last month with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"For a long time, Canada and Korea were good friends, but now we want to be best friends, because we know that when a dictator creates a lot of instability in the world, we as a country want to reach out to other countries to create stability," she said, referring to Russia's invasion to Ukraine.
President Yoon also stressed cooperation with Canada in the field of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI).
"Canadians very much know the breadth of knowledge, when it comes to different technologies coming from South Korea. Meanwhile, back home in Canada, we are extremely strong in AI ― I come from Montreal that has one of the top researchers in the world in AI," Joly said.
"For years, Canada invested in AI because we knew it was about the future of technology. We also knew that it needed sustained support. So I think that's why at this point we're leading in the world when it comes to AI, because it was a commitment we made as a government to continue to support these great researchers and the centers of technology,” she said.
"How I see the future of Canada and Korea, when it comes to technology, is that we can definitely partner through AI because (we can combine) our knowledge through your technologies to leapfrog other countries. So that's where we can definitely benefit from a strong partnership."
She also mentioned how fast trade between Korea and Canada has grown since the Korea-Canada Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2015, saying that further potential lies in bilateral relations.
"When it comes to energy, there is a very important LNG (liquefied natural gas) facility being built in Canada. It is the biggest private investment in Canadian history," Joly said.
The 44 billion Canadian dollar project in Kitimat, British Columbia, is currently underway with involvement from Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS).
"Starting in 2025, Canada will be exporting LNG to Korea and become one of the biggest suppliers of LNG to Korea," the minister said.