President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada decided on Wednesday to strengthen their collaboration on vital minerals and to keep working together to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
As the two nations consider ways to strengthen security ties while navigating a rivalry between the United States and China, Trudeau made his first visit to Seoul in nine years on Tuesday.
The presidents agreed to a memorandum of understanding on vital mineral supply chains, the transition to sustainable energy, and energy security after a summit, which they claimed would help the nations become “globally competitive players in areas including batteries and zero-emission vehicles.”
In a joint statement released following their meeting, they claimed that this would aid in the development of clean technology that would fuel green and sustainable economic growth.
Many of the essential minerals, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are now used to build batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), are found in Canada, and the country’s government is actively working to support producers and processors as they scale up their operations.
According to a second statement from the South Korean industry ministry, the agreement to increase cooperation on clean energy minerals will assist South Korea in diversifying its mineral supply and better coping with the U.S. inflation reduction act (IRA).
For a $3,750 credit for electric vehicles, the IRA mandates that 40% of the value of the EV battery components be obtained from the United States or a free trade partner like Canada.
As part of the industrialised nations’ efforts to decarbonize their economies, China now controls the market for essential minerals for electric vehicle batteries. Russia is also a significant player.
The two nations, who this year celebrate the 60th anniversary of their bilateral relations, also denounced North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes in the joint statement and urged Pyongyang to resume negotiations.
In an earlier speech to the South Korean parliament, Trudeau declared that Canada was committed to boosting its military involvement to counterbalance threats to regional stability.
In order to reduce risks to regional security, Canada is dedicated to increasing both its trade and military engagement, according to Trudeau, who also noted the importance of regional stability for global security.
He promised support for initiatives to create “a denuclearized, peaceful, and prosperous Korean Peninsula” and stated, “We will continue to call on North Korea to return to dialogue and diplomacy.”
