President Moon Jae-in and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a summit from 11:41 a.m. to 12:06 p.m. today on the sidelines of the G20 Osaka Summit in Japan. During their summit, they exchanged views on a wide range of areas, including the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.  

President Moon explained recent developments on the Korean Peninsula to the Canadian Prime Minister, including the three inter-Korean summits and two summits between North Korea and the United States. He also brought up the exchange of personal letters between Chairman Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump while highlighting the necessity for North Korea-U.S. dialogue. Moreover, President Moon said, “I am looking forward to President Trump’s visit to Korea serving as a catalyst for reviving momentum for North Korea-U.S. talks under coordination between South Korea and the United States and giving impetus to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.” The President went on to ask for continued support and cooperation from the international community, including Canada, until the peace process on the Korean Peninsula has succeeded.  

Prime Minister Trudeau responded by first expressing appreciation for President Moon’s explanation on the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Noting that Canada will provide any further assistance necessary at any time, the Canadian Prime Minister spoke of his willingness to actively support the peace process that President Moon is pursuing on the Korean Peninsula.

Moving onto trade issues, President Moon thanked Canada by saying, “I welcome the measure Canada has recently taken to exclude Korea from its final list of countries subject to steel safeguards.” Praising increases in bilateral trade and investments brought about by the Korea-Canada FTA, the President said he looks forward to cooperation between the two countries being further expanded to include areas concerning the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as artificial intelligence.

Prime Minister Trudeau said that the two countries have made significant progress in economic fields over the past five years and that the future holds even larger prospects. The Prime Minister proposed that the two sides should further strengthen bilateral cooperation such as expanding collaboration in artificial intelligence and creating jobs by encouraging businesses in both countries to invest. Moreover, the Prime Minister highly praised the Korean Government’s efforts to achieve gender equality, including expanding women’s participation in society. 

Finally, speaking of the Prime Minister’s newly appointed senior advisor, Korean-Canadian Ben Chin, who was attending the summit and assisting Prime Minister Trudeau, the President said he is looking forward to more ethnic Koreans participating in diverse fields going forward.