The Philippines and Canada agreed to seek the conclusion of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) before the end of 2026 after elevating their relationship to a strategic partnership, as the two countries moved to deepen cooperation in trade, defense, energy, labor, security and people-to-people ties.
The announcement followed bilateral meetings between President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Vancouver, where the two leaders pledged to bolster ties.
“Prime Minister Carney and I reaffirmed our commitment to conclude the negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement this year,” Mr. Marcos said during a joint press statement with Mr. Carney livestreamed Friday (Manila time) from Vancouver.
Mr. Carney noted that these bilateral efforts are running alongside negotiations for a broader Canada-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) FTA, which aims to provide businesses access to a $5 trillion regional market of over 700 million people.
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