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Canada to join US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, vows to play ‘bigger role’ in region
- Seeking way forward from fraught relations with Beijing, Ottawa joins 13-nation alliance viewed as centrepiece of American strategy
- Top American envoy praises announcement, saying US will ‘closely consult’ IPEF nations on process for considering new members
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Khushboo Razdanin New York
Nearly five months after US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Canada on Thursday announced it would join the 13-nation alliance seen as the centrepiece of an American strategy to counter China’s economic clout in the region.
Speaking in Ottawa at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly vowed that Canada would play a “bigger role” and “deepen engagement with the US” in the Indo-Pacific region.
“I’m pleased to announce that Canada will seek membership to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which is commonly known as IPEF,” Joly said, adding that the two countries on Thursday “also agreed to hold the first Canada-US strategic dialogue on the Indo-Pacific to further align our approaches”.
Blinken praised Canada’s announcement. He said in the coming months the US would “closely consult with other members on the development of a process for considering new members”.
Currently the IPEF counts among its members Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
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