Canada’s trade minister to make first trip to Myanmar

OTTAWA: Trade Minister Ed Fast will make the first visit by any Canadian official in his post to Myanmar on September 2, the last stop of a regional tour, his office said Sunday.

Following official working visits to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, Fast will co-chair the first meeting of economic ministers from Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cambodia on Friday.

“We continue to pursue deeper ties with the world’s largest, most dynamic and fastest-growing economies, as part of the most ambitious trade expansion plan in Canadian history,” Fast said in a statement.

ASEAN nations rank as Canada’s seventh-largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $15.5 billion last year.

Fast’s trade mission to Southeast Asia kicked off on Sunday and ends on September 3.

-channel news asia