May 8, 2012 - The Honourable Ed Fast, Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and Stephen Green, the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Trade and Investment, today issued the following joint statement after their first annual dialogue in Montréal:
“The second Joint Declaration between Canada and the United Kingdom, endorsed by prime ministers Stephen Harper and David Cameron in Ottawa on September 22, 2011, directed ministers to meet annually to renew objectives, including deepening Canada-U.K. trade and investment ties. Today, we met in Montréal to report on progress made and to review action to advance our shared prosperity.
“The Joint Innovation Statement we signed today delivers on an important commitment by our prime ministers to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of science, technology innovation and entrepreneurship. The successful implementation of this statement will help us leverage further research cooperation and knowledge sharing, and allow us to accelerate the commercialization of emerging technologies in areas that are a priority for both countries. Strengthening entrepreneurial and institutional partnerships will improve our ability to find solutions to global challenges.
“Canada and the U.K. have an enduring and broadly based commercial relationship. Two-way merchandise trade reached $29.1 billion in 2011, a 7.5-percent increase over 2010, making the U.K. Canada’s largest trading partner in the European Union. Canada’s leading exports to the U.K. are gold and diamonds, inorganic chemicals and nickel, while the U.K.’s leading exports to Canada are machinery, gold and silver, and mineral fuels and oils.
“Without a doubt, the best way to deepen our already robust trade and investment relationship is to conclude negotiations on a broad and ambitious Canada-EU comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA). An agreement that is ambitious in all areas, including goods, services, investment and labour mobility, will ensure that hard-working citizens of both countries realize the greatest possible benefit from this agreement.
“In order to create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity to the benefit of people in both our countries, today we reaffirm our joint commitment to an ambitious and mutually successful outcome to these historic CETA negotiations, and we pledge our support to concluding negotiations as soon as possible.”
For the complete text, please visit Joint Innovation Statement.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Rudy Husny
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Ed Fast
Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
613-992-7332
Trade Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-996-2000
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