00:00Thank you very much, Ambassador. Bonjour tout le monde.
00:05President Marcos, it is a great honour, a great pleasure to welcome you to Vancouver
00:12in an official capacity to welcome you back to British Columbia.
00:17I trust that you will feel at home here because the Filipino community is at the very heart of Canada.
00:27Canada is home to more than 1 million Filipino Canadians.
00:33There are nearly 200,000 Filipino Canadians who reside right here in beautiful British Columbia.
00:41There are doctors, nurses, caregivers who help Canadians in their most critical moments.
00:49There are entrepreneurs, businesses, businesses that in some cases have become the gathering places
00:56for families and friends.
00:58Local restaurants here in Vancouver, Plateau Filipino, global icons like Cholibi, where we will be going.
01:09We just had a working lunch. We didn't eat at our working lunch,
01:12so we'll be going to Cholibi to get some real sustenance.
01:17Filipino culture is proudly celebrated in the music, the dance, the art of our festivals.
01:26Kamayan Fest, Pinoy Festival.
01:31And Filipino Canadians, Canadians, join also when there's tragedy, as we joined a little more than a year ago
01:43to support each other after the Lapu-Lapu tragedy not far from here.
01:49Mr. President, we are one people, united in diversity and our humanity.
01:55And Filipino Canadians are also helping to lead our nation, including my colleague, Richie Valdez,
02:04Canada's first Filipina member of Parliament, our first Filipina cabinet minister.
02:16The community, the Filipino community, has helped build the Canada that we know today.
02:20A Canada that's stronger, it's richer, it's more vibrant because of the people who've chosen to make it their home.
02:28And this relationship extends across the Pacific to the Philippines,
02:32where we share an enduring friendship and now a deepening trade and security relationship.
02:38And it's that community that's part of the bridge, as you said,
02:41that links our two countries together and that relationship on which we are building today.
02:48This visit comes at an important moment, a pivotal moment for Canada, for the Philippines and our peoples.
02:55The world is more dangerous, it's more divided.
02:59Old alliances are being tested as new threats emerge.
03:03And at the same time, as we discussed,
03:06new opportunities are opening up in commerce, in technology, in energy,
03:10and in our culture.
03:11And so, in a rapidly changing world, what Canada is doing is deepening our partnerships
03:17with countries who share our values and our ambitions.
03:22And to that end, we're deepening our trade and investment across ASEAN,
03:27the fastest growing region in the world.
03:30And nowhere is that more important than, under your leadership, President Marcos,
03:35your leadership, your presidency of ASEAN.
03:37We're moving with determination to conclude negotiations of our Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement
03:44by the summit this year.
03:47This agreement, once constituted, will reduce tariffs,
03:52in some cases fully eliminate them, for our exports,
03:55help give Canadian workers and businesses access to a $5 trillion market
04:00of over 700 million people.
04:04Critically, crucially, we're also working hard to finalize negotiations
04:09on the Canada-Philippines free trade agreement.
04:13You and I committed, or intended, last year,
04:16when we met for the first time bilaterally,
04:20to look to conclude that agreement this year.
04:22We're making good progress.
04:24It's an enormous opportunity to deepen that partnership.
04:28As I said at the start,
04:30the Philippines is one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies,
04:34and if it's one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies,
04:37it's one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
04:39A population of almost 120 million people.
04:44We have a prospect of tripling our bilateral trade
04:49both directions by 2035.
04:52Great opportunities for our business.
04:55And, really, this free trade agreement would be the foundation
04:59of our new Canada-Philippines strategic partnership.
05:02We're together, we're launching a new era of cooperation,
05:06deepening our collaboration in trade and energy, defense, and tourism.
05:10And, as part of this partnership,
05:13we're announcing a joint declaration of intent
05:15on energy and natural resource cooperation
05:18and a new technical assistance partnership.
05:22We're already ourselves amongst the world's largest critical minerals producers.
05:28We're one of the top five global producers
05:31in 10 different critical minerals.
05:33You're one of the largest exporters of nickel
05:35or major producers of minerals like cobalt and copper.
05:39And we share your objective to increase not just the production,
05:43but the processing of these essential materials.
06:09Now, economic cooperation is not enough.
06:11It has to be underpinned, reinforced by shared security.
06:15And that's why we're deepening our collaboration
06:17in marine maritime security
06:20and in multinational military operations.
06:23We'll soon ratify the status of visiting forces agreement,
06:30enabling our armed forces to train and operate more closely
06:34through joint military exercises in both of our countries,
06:37reinforcing our collective security.
06:40We're going to re-serrer the liens
06:43between our populations
06:45who unisent depuis longtemps
06:47our two countries,
06:50because the relations between Canada and the Philippines
06:53are not only on the commerce,
06:57but also on the people.
06:59Today, we've signed two protocols
07:02to stimulate tourism
07:17We've also signed an important
07:19joint declaration of intent on labour and migration
07:23to strengthen protection for migrant workers
07:25and to promote ethical recruitment.
07:28Filipino workers make extraordinary contributions
07:32to communities across the world
07:34and across Canada.
07:35And when they're here,
07:36we will ensure they are treated fairly,
07:39can work safely
07:40and have their rights protected.
07:43So, together,
07:45we're building a future
07:46where peace is sustained through cooperation,
07:49where prosperity is shared
07:51and where opportunity
07:52is open to all.
07:55a future built through partnership.
07:58President Marcos,
07:59thank you for your leadership.
08:01Thank you for your leadership
08:02of your country, of Hacian,
08:05and thank you for your leadership
08:06on the global stage.
08:08Thank you for joining us
08:09to build our future together.
08:16Subscribe to OneIndia
08:18and never miss an update.
08:21Download the OneIndia app now.
Comments