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B.C. has signed an agreement with its sister province in South Korea.

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Agreement with Korean sister province will bring more investment to B.C.

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 10:29 PDT, Fri July 22, 2022

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As a part of the StrongerBC Economic Plan and the next step in B.C.'s Trade Diversification Strategy, the province has signed an action plan with Gyeonggi Province in South Korea.

The action plan will better support mutual economic growth to create more opportunities for businesses and people in British Columbia.

"The pandemic and global challenges have shown us the importance of better protecting our supply chains from market instability," said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery, and Innovation. "The renewal of this action plan with our Korean sister province will create mutual economic opportunities, strengthen our supply chains, and create good-paying jobs for British Columbians."

This is the fourth action plan agreement the province has signed with Gyeonggi Province, the Korean sister province for British Columbia. This agreement focuses on exchanges and co-operation in six main areas: trade and economy, culture and arts, sports, disaster response and safety, education, and workforce development.

Signing this agreement is one of the next steps in the Trade Diversification Strategy. This strategy sets the direction for exploring targeted new international markets, while expanding existing ones. This will create more opportunities to get sustainable B.C. goods and services out globally. The Trade Diversification Strategy is being developed in collaboration with a diverse array of partners to provide more opportunities for under-represented groups to participate in international trade.

"Creating a strong, diverse network of trade partners and creating more channels of export are key factors for innovation and growth for B.C.," said George Chow, Minister of State for Trade. "From trade and economy to workforce development and sport, I look forward to working with Gyeonggi Province to advance our shared goals. Strengthening this partnership will provide more opportunities and investments for B.C. businesses and workers as we continue to build a more resilient economy that works for everyone."

Building off the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA), Canada's first free-trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, this action plan provides a framework offering practical help to the economies of both provinces as they focus on collective recovery from the global pandemic.

"Gyeonggi Province is a massive market that accounts for 25 per cent of Korea's total population, so we anticipate active trade and reciprocal investment to further strengthen economic ties and co-operation between our two provinces," said Ryu Kwang-yeol, assistant governor for economy, Gyeonggi Province. "We hope to host a training session in the near future on doing business in B.C. to promote opportunities for Gyeonggi companies and investors under the CKFTA."

This initiative is a key action in the StrongerBC Economic Plan, which aims to tackle the issues that matter most to people while growing a high-care, low-carbon economy that works for people today and for generations to come.

The plan builds on B.C.'s strong economic recovery and works to address two long-standing challenges—inequality and climate change—by closing the skills gap, building resilient communities and helping businesses and people transition to clean-energy solutions. The plan sets two main goals for the province—inclusive growth and clean growth—and puts forward six missions to keep B.C. on track.

Gyeonggi and B.C. have been sister provinces since May 2008. Since then, they have signed three consecutive action plans to promote friendly co-operation in the areas of media content, the IT industry, sports, and cross-cultural exchanges.

When CKFTA is fully implemented, more than 98 per cent of South Korea's tariff lines on Canada's products will be removed. South Korea is British Columbia's fourth-largest trading partner and export destination (5.4 per cent share of B.C.-origin exports). South Korea is Canada's third-largest trading partner in Asia, with 50 per cent of all Canadian exports to South Korea coming from B.C.

For more about the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, click here.