Korea, Canada hold defense cooperation conference in Ottawa

This photo shows Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee, left, speaking with Stephen Fuhr, Canada's secretary of state for defense procurement, ahead of a conference to bolster defense cooperation between Korea and Canada, Friday. Courtesy of the defense ministry

Korea and Canada have held a defense cooperation conference in Ottawa to strengthen bilateral ties in the defense and arms sectors, the defense ministry said Friday.

Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee hosted the conference on Thursday (local time), which brought together some 120 participants, including senior government and military officials from both countries.

The attendees also included Stephen Fuhr, Canada's secretary of state for defense procurement, and Seok Jong-gun, chief of Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

In his opening remarks, Lee said the conference would serve as an opportunity to further solidify the security partnership between the two nations and promote practical cooperation in defense, arms and defense industry sectors.

Fuhr expressed hope to expand cooperation and investment opportunities across various fields based on their growing partnership.

The ministry plans to hold similar conferences abroad next year as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation with key defense industry partners.

President Lee Jae Myung and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to deepen their strategic partnership in defense, security and military intelligence sharing during their summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering last week.