Canada and Korea host 2nd Korea-Canada 2+2 Director-General Economic and Security Dialogue
Noah Note
Canada and Korea held the 2nd Korea-Canada 2+2 Director-General Economic and Security Dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul yesterday. The event is held biannually, similar to the Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers "2+2" Dialogue Meeting.
The Korean delegation included Kim Young-man, Acting Director General for Trade Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Kim Sun-young, Director General for Bilateral Economic Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Canadian Delegation in turn included Jamieson McKay, Director General of Investment Review at the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Joya Donnelly, Director General of Northeast Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Emmanuelle Lamoureux, Director General of Strategy.
Often times these meetings go unnoticed. There is little coverage of the Canadian side of things so we often have to go through Korean sources to hear what was discussed. Unfortunately, even by their standards this one has been fairly bare of discussion.
The primary point of discussion it seems was related to the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, particularly in the area of Industrial Cooperation and coordinating efforts to encourage deeper economic and security cooperation coming out of a potential CPSP victory.
Both sides also shared concerns about geoeconomic risks, such as the restructuring of global supply chains, intensifying technological competition, and the spread of protectionism. Bith sides agreed on the need for a joint response. In particular, they discussed cooperation measures to detect and respond to signs of supply chain disruptions in advance through an Early Warning System (EWS) utilizing overseas diplomatic missions.
Not much is coming out, however these dialogues are an important part of relationship development. Regular events and Government-to-Government dialogues allow bith sides to better engage on a regular basis. It allows for agreements to be formulated quicker, help buukd trust, and ensure we can have regular interaction with allies on dynamic topics that oftentimes can pass us when we don't encourage regular dialog.
In todays enviornment especially these dialogues allow for us to quickly gauge allied opinions, coordinate joint responses, and ensure that we can better align on collective goals. It is important that, despite how boring these appear to the average person, that we encourage and positively report on when they happen.
Canada and Korea have a fairly healthy, comprehensive enviornment for exchanges and dialogues. Beyond the 2+2 meetings, Canada and Korea also maintain:
ROK-Canada Joint Meeting (Materiel) on Defence Materiel Cooperation
ROK-Canada Joint Meeting (Defence R&D)
Canada-Korea Cyber Policy Consultations
Future Space Security Dialogue
Potential future Canada-Korea Industry Roadshow (unconfirmed to return)
Regular series of staff talks between the Armies, Navies and Air Forces
The Canadian-Korean dialogues are especially important now with CPSP coming to a close soon. They represent the last string of Diplomatic and Governmental efforts that are trying to win favour ahead of a cabinet decision. That decision is likely to come in the next three weeks, though an announcement will likely come May/June.
So while there isn't too much here I do like to acknowledge when these meetings happen and when they're publicized. I just wish we did more to publicize and discuss them. It is a shame we have to go to Korean sources 99% of the time just for acknowledgement that these important meetings exist.