Trudeau arrives in Thailand for APEC with Indo-Pacific trade in focus

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has arrived in Thailand for meetings aimed at expanding Canada's trade with the Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has arrived in Thailand for meetings aimed at expanding Canada’s trade with the Indo-Pacific region.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is a group of 21 economies on both sides of the Pacific that work together to break down barriers to trade.

Trudeau is attending the APEC leaders’ meeting Thursday and Friday, in an overnight stop in Bangkok that should yield facetime with government and business leaders.

“How much can be achieved at a meeting like this will inevitably be affected by geopolitical factors,” said Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada CEO Jeff Nankivell.

The question, he said, will be: “Is it possible to get consensus on outcomes documents in the current geopolitical context?”

Rather than listing countries as members, the APEC group consists of 21 economies that include the special administrative region of Hong Kong, which falls under Chinese control, and Taiwan, which some states _ including China – don’t recognize as a country.

The organization features a series of technical committees and working groups that advise policy leaders on how to make business flow more smoothly between different countries, such as standardizing how transactions are documented or setting rules on data privacy and digital trade.

Instead of negotiating policy or signing agreements, the group aims to come up with suggestions on how to boost economic growth and make sure different sectors are in regular conversation.