Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, met with Kemi Badenoch, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Trade, on the margins of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
During their meeting, Minister Ng discussed the women-focused Canada trade mission to the United Kingdom planned for March 2023 and noted that she is looking forward to meeting with Secretary Badenoch during that visit to advance Canada-United Kingdom cooperation on inclusive trade.
Minister Ng emphasized the importance of advancing ongoing bilateral work on a free trade agreement between Canada and the United Kingdom to ensure continuity in commercial relations and support increased opportunities in trade and investment. In discussing the process underway for the United Kingdom's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Minister Ng expressed Canada's support for the United Kingdom joining the agreement. She underscored the importance of including economies in the CPTPP that are able and willing to meet the agreement's high standard of commitments and ambitious market-access outcomes.
Minister Ng and Secretary Badenoch discussed collaborative efforts to deliver meaningful outcomes at the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC13) in early 2024 and to safeguard and strengthen the rules-based international trade system. Minister Ng stressed the importance of working together at both the WTO and within the Ottawa Group on WTO reform to make progress on critical initiatives such as the joint statement initiative on e-commerce, and the establishment of an effective dispute-settlement mechanism.
Minister Ng and Secretary Badenoch discussed the importance of continuing collaboration between Canada and the United Kingdom at multilateral forums and building on shared initiatives relating to trade and the environment, inclusive trade, digital trade, and trade and health.
