BUSAN (South Korea), Nov 19: Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi took preliminary steps here on Saturday towards negotiating a free trade deal, officials said.

The two leaders signed an accord on reinforcing commercial ties dubbed the Canada-Japan Economic Framework when they met on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit here.

Japan is a key trade and investment partner, and this framework will help ensure that Canada’s commercial strengths remain uppermost in the minds of Japanese decision makers and business leaders, said Martin in a statement.

The accord laid the groundwork for future cooperation in 15 priority areas — including food safety, investment, customs and social security, the statement said.

Martin, who visited Tokyo in January, said he had laid the groundwork for the trade negotiations then.

We agreed in January to take concrete steps to enhance our economic partnership, and we continue to move these plans forward, he said.

Martin said the two sides had launched a joint study on bilateral trade and investment, a “key element of the overall framework”.

We have committed to assessing the opportunities for further trade and investment promotion and the potential for future liberalization.

Koizumi agreed the new accord would add impetus to trade ties.

This framework will further deepen relations between Japan and Canada, he told Martin, according to a Japanese government official.

A Canadian official said earlier in Ottawa that Japan and Canada were contemplating “greatly expanding our trade relationship.”

Japan is Canada’s second-largest export market after the United States. taking 10.4 billion Canadian dollars (8.8 billion US dollars) in goods and services including wood and canola.

Japan is Canada’s fourth largest source of imports with 16.9 billion Canadian dollars in goods and services including vehicles, heavy equipment and office machines.

The Canadian prime minister also said he had spoken to Koizumi about Canadian beef exports during their meeting.

I think we’re able to advance the anticipated openings to Canadian beef in Japan, he said, without elaborating.—AFP