Hello, everyone. 

Good afternoon, everyone. It’s great to be joining you here in Vientiane. To start, because this is the first time a Canadian prime minister has visited Lao, but also because we’ve had a highly productive time here in what is my third consecutive ASEAN summit. A summit made successful and possible by our gracious and welcoming Laotian hosts led by Prime Minister Siphandone.

But before we get into it today, I want to take-… I want to talk about the fact that our national Pharmacare bill, Bill C-64, just got Royal Assent. This is a big deal and great news for many Canadians. It means free insulin is coming for every Canadian who needs it, ensuring that they don’t have to choose between putting food on the table and getting the life-saving medication they require. And it means we’ll be providing prescription contraceptives for free, because we not only believe in a woman’s right to choose, but we act on it. This is real progress, but now, we need the provinces and territories to come to the table and sign agreements with us that supports Canadians and takes pressure off their household budgets as soon as possible.

I’ve also seen the devastating images from the ground in the U.S. after Hurricane Milton made landfall yesterday. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragic disaster. I know Canadians are already rolling up their sleeves, some there to restore power, others there to help neighbours in need. We are all thinking of our friends to the south.

Today we’re here in Lao because when we formed government, we made a commitment to invest in Canada’s relationship in the Indo-Pacific, to invest in strengthening ties with ASEAN, because these relationships matter. They matter because, in an increasingly complex and unstable world, strong partnerships built on mutual trust are the only way we can create a safe and prosperous future.

They matter because we need to be skating where the puck is going. ASEAN is the fastest-growing region in the world and plays a central consensus-building role, not just here in Asia, but around the globe, and in just a few years, we’re all seeing remarkable results. Since 2015, Canada’s trade with ASEAN has nearly doubled. And that didn’t happen by accident, it happened because our Trade ministers, particularly Mary, has led many successful trade missions to the region, with hundreds of Canadian businesses. Most recently to Malaysia and Vietnam earlier this year, and with the Philippines and Indonesia coming this December. 

It also happened because we have deliberately built up our presence and leaned into the right relationships. Collectively, ASEAN is now Canada’s fourth-largest trading partner with almost $40 billion in annual trade. This means countless new opportunities for Canadian and ASEAN businesses alike. It means more community building, middle-class jobs on both sides of the Pacific, and it means access to a wider variety of goods and services at affordable prices. That’s real progress that our people can see and feel. And it’s not just me saying it, as one ASEAN leader said directly to me this week, “Our relationship is hitting levels beyond anything we ever aspired to.” 

As I told our ASEAN partners at the summit, this progress would never have been possible without the ongoing work and efforts, year after year, without the relationships we have cultivated, without the leadership we have collectively demonstrated, and finally, without the sincere desire of ASEAN members to have Canada as a strategic partner, an active, committed partner that is present in the region. 

But the work is never done, and this year is no different. At the conclusion of this year’s summit, we released a joint statement highlighting, among other things, our work together in the digital space, recognizing that Canada is already a leader in AI and other technologies that will shape the 21st century global economy. 

And I have to pause on that for a sec, because it was extremely exciting to see Geoffrey Hinton win the Nobel Prize for physics for his work developing AI earlier this week. I actually called him from a refuelling stop on the way over and was extremely excited to see not just what he’s been able to do, but the thoughtful approach he has on making sure that AI stays focused on serving citizens and building a better economy, and not necessarily on destabilizing or hurting people. 

This is work we need to stay on. And quite frankly, the fact that Canada is in many ways at the origin of modern AI is something that we should both step up on and make sure we’re continuing to build on. In my conversations with ASEAN this week, I pointed out that AI is going to be incredible as a leverage to build success and opportunity, particularly people who have so much need for economic opportunity and growth, and that’s where Canada can step in and be a partner with communities and countries like here in ASEAN, as we work on technology, that’s going to make a huge difference in the lives of millions of people around the world. 

We’re investing and we’re focusing our efforts on protecting our nations from the increasingly devastating consequences of climate change, including droughts, floods and wildfires, while protecting our oceans, on which we all greatly depend. We’re building on initiatives such as the creation of Canada’s first Indo-Pacific agri-food office in Manila, to share our expertise and build a more innovative agriculture industry while fighting global hunger.

On the world stage, Canada is working with ASEAN on maritime safety, cybersecurity, the prevention of transnational organized crime and terrorism, and enhancing the rights of women and girls across the globe. And we’re working towards the conclusion of a Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, a Canada-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement, and the expansion of the CPTPP, all of which will promote inclusive economic growth and development that strengthens the middle class in our respective countries.

But these aren’t just words, we’re taking action. We’re investing in projects to fight climate change and protect the environment. Like the Lao Monsoon Wind Power Project, the first large-scale wind power project in this country, and supporting the Mekong River Commission to protect a vital driver of economic growth for millions of people. We’re addressing global security challenges by providing training to combat cyber threats from malicious actors. We’ve stepped up on our military and security partnerships, including more deployments to this pivotal region. We’re enhancing our energy cooperation, particularly in nuclear power and in renewables. And we’re upgrading our offices in Cambodia and Laos into full embassies next year, meaning that we will soon have Canadian embassies in all ten ASEAN Member states.

Once again, I wish like to thanks for hosting us at this summit, and I wish to thank all the ASEAN member states for their ongoing commitment to building strong partnerships with Canada, partnerships that deliver real progress to our citizens today, and for decades to come. Thank you so much for being here.