Press Releases
The 31st Meeting of the Japan-Canada Joint Economic Committee
December 17, 2021
On December 17, 2021, the 31st Meeting of Japan-Canada Joint Economic Committee (JEC) was held in an online format.
- The meeting was chaired by Mr. SUZUKI Hiroshi, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. John Hannaford, Deputy Minister of International Trade, Global Affairs Canada. Other attendants included Mr. KAWAMURA Yasuhisa, Ambassador of Japan to Canada, Mr. Ian G. Mckay, Ambassador of Canada to Japan, as well as officials from both Japanese and Canadian governments and the Embassy of Japan in Canada.
- The co-chairs reviewed the progress so far on 5 priority areas of cooperation in the JEC framework consisting of Energy, Infrastructure, Science and Technology Cooperation and Innovation, Tourism and Youth Exchanges, and Improving Business Environment and Promoting Investment, based on the discussions by the Cooperative Working Group (CWG), and exchanged views on possibilities of cooperation in future. The co-chairs also agreed to add Agriculture as a new priority area of cooperation in the JEC framework.
- Furthermore, the co-chairs exchanged views on the current international economic environment including CPTPP and WTO, economic security, as well as Energy Security, Free Trade Promotion and Trade Agreement Implementation, Environment and Climate Change within“Shared Japan-Canada Priorities Contributing to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
- At the meeting, both countries concurred to issue the joint press release (English (PDF)
/ Japanese (PDF)), attached herein.