Canada's Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Action Plan with South Korea to promote cooperation in the field of transport, with a focus on gateways, air and rail transportation activities.
The objective of this MoU is to enhance mutual benefits by exchanging information on a timely basis, sharing knowledge and lessons learned, and cooperating on specific projects. It also aims to expand cooperation among public and private-sector organizations in the air, rail and gateways-related industries to improve trade logistics and thereby enhance competitiveness in domestic and international markets.
The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) which entered into force on January 1, 2015, constituted Canada’s first free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, and aimed to provide new access for Canadian businesses and workers to one of the world’s 15th-largest economies and the fourth-largest in Asia.
The CKFTA is an ambitious and comprehensive agreement, covering trade in goods and services, investment, government procurement, non-tariff barriers, environment and labour cooperation, and other areas of economic activity.
Two-way merchandise trade reached over $11.4 billion in 2014, making South Korea Canada’s third-largest trading partner in Asia.