STATEMENT BY SENATOR YONAH MARTIN ON THE SIGNING OF THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CANADA AND KOREA SEOUL, KOREA – The Honourable Yonah Martin, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate accompanying Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with Ministers Ed Fast and James Moore, Parliamentarians and National Stakeholders to Seoul, Korea, for the official signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and Korea on March 10th 2014. On November 19, 2004, then Prime Minister of Canada and President of the Republic of Korea announced for the first time that Canada and Korea would begin talks to explore the feasibility of negotiating a free trade agreement. On July 15, 2005, the Canadian and South Korean trade ministers formally announced the launch of bilateral free trade negotiations. Today’s official signing of the FTA, 10 years in the making, marks a historic day for both Canada and Korea. It is an honour to witness the signing of our historic agreement in Seoul, the place of my birth. This is good news for Canadian industries and stakeholder groups that will benefit from greater trade and collaboration with Korea, stated Senator Martin. Korea is a high-growth and rapidly advancing market of strategic importance for Canada. Canada and Korea enjoy an important trade and investment relationship which has grown and strengthened over the past 50 years. South Korea is Canada’s 7th largest merchandise trading partner and Canada’s 3rd largest in Asia, after China and Japan. Canada-Korea two-way merchandise trade is robust, nearly reaching $10.1 billion in 2012. At the end of 2012, Canadian foreign direct investment (FDI) in Korea was $569 million, while Korean FDI in Canada was over $5.8 billion. 2013 was declared the Year of Canada in Korea and the Year of Korea in Canada to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The signing of the FTA is the first major step for Canada Korea relations in 2014, to begin the goals set out for the next 50 years of friendship and bilateral trade. “As a Korean Canadian, today is a proud moment for all of us. I would like to commend the National Korean Community and the members of the Community Advisory Groups for their dedication, tireless effort and leadership, which has helped make this momentous day possible. Together, we can achieve anything. The future for Canada Korea is bright.”
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 23:23:33 +0000
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