SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) — Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo held a meeting with a Canadian business delegation led by his counterpart, Mary Ng, in Seoul and they discussed ways to expand bilateral trade and industry cooperation, officials said Monday.

The visit by the Canadian business delegation marked the largest of its kind since Seoul and Ottawa forged the so-called comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.

During the meeting, Cheong expressed hope to broaden the bilateral cooperation beyond its current focus on natural gas, key minerals, and batteries, to include emerging sectors, like clean energy and small modular reactors.

Cheong also requested that Canada closely monitor the operations of South Korean companies within its borders to ensure they encounter no obstacles in establishing supply chains and executing their investments.

On the margins of the event, Cheong held a meeting with Goldy Hyder, the president of the Business Council of Canada leading the business delegation.

During the session, Cheong highlighted that the private sector plays a key role in developing business opportunities that utilize the two governments’ efforts to bolster bilateral cooperation.

The two countries also held a joint committee meeting on the bilateral free trade agreement, which went into effect in 2015.

“South Korea and Canada will continue making joint efforts to establish a free and rule-based international trade order,” Cheong said.

The trade volume between the two countries came to US$14.6 billion in 2023, up around 70 percent from $8.6 billion tallied in 2015, ministry data showed.