Yoon arrives in Canada for summit with Trudeau on supply chains

All News 04:55 September 23, 2022

By Lee Haye-ah

TORONTO, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived in Canada on Thursday for a summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on building stable supply chains in core minerals for EV batteries.

Yoon, who is on a three-nation trip to Britain, the United States and Canada, arrived in Toronto where he is scheduled to visit the University of Toronto for a meeting with AI experts.

Toronto is Canada's biggest economic hub and a global leader in digital technology and the AI industry, according to Yoon's office.

In the evening, the president will meet with Korean residents in the city. Toronto is home to around 120,000 Koreans.

From Toronto, Yoon will head to Ottawa on Friday for a summit with Trudeau. The two met on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Madrid in June and will continue their discussions on ways to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership ahead of the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations next year.

The summit agenda includes ways to cooperate for the establishment of stable supply chains in core minerals, and ways Canada can support South Korean businesses in the country, according to Yoon's office.

Canada is a key producer of core minerals needed in the production of EV batteries, and South Korean businesses plan major battery-related investments in the country, it said.

Following the summit, Yoon will depart for Seoul and return home Saturday.