Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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Advancing Canada's Interests and Values at APEC

November 19, 2006
Ha Noi, Viet Nam

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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

The 14th meeting of APEC economic leaders has just wrapped up.

I want to thank the government and people of Vietnam for their warm hospitality and leadership.

The declaration that I and other APEC leaders endorsed today reflects Canadian priorities.

We underlined the importance of bringing the energy and ambition of the region to reignite the Doha round and to bring coherence and the highest possible standards to trade liberalization efforts in the Asia-Pacific.

We also endorsed the work that APEC is doing to ensure that as we expand our economies, trade and travel are as secure as possible.

Over the last two days I have had the opportunity to advance Canadian interests with important partners like:

President Roh of South Korea,

Prime Minister Howard of Australia,

Prime Minister Clark of New Zealand,

Prime Minister Dung of Vietnam,

Prime Minister Abe of Japan,

President Hu of China,

And president Arroyo of the Philippines.

We talked about building our trade and investment links bilaterally as well as regionally;

We recognized the importance of finding new ways to improve air quality and combat pollution;

We discussed common values such as the defence and promotion of human rights.

We talked about confronting challenges to our security in Afghanistan and North Korea.

I also made sure that we are working to put in place the framework that will better connect Canada to the region.

Flowing from this meeting will be new agreements and initiatives to assist Canadian business people in places like Peru, Chile and Singapore.

We will also be working to facilitate travel to the region.

In the coming months, we will sign an agreement to expand science and technology cooperation with China. Let me say a bit more about this.

The agreement will build research and development ties with China in key areas such as energy, the environment, biotechnology and agri-food products.

As we look to the future, we see an Asia-Pacific region closely connected to Canada.

Canada’s New Government is committed to making our presence felt in the region, and to being a strong voice in APEC toward making that happen.

Thank you. And now I will take some questions.

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The Prime Minister’s Office - Communications
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