Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back has made an emphatic pitch for South Korea’s bid to win Canada’s high-profile submarine procurement project during talks with his Canadian counterpart in Ottawa, saying the Asian country’s participation in it would serve as a “turning point” for bilateral defense cooperation.
Ahn and Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty met on Wednesday, hours before the “two-plus-two” meeting of the two countries’ defense and foreign ministers amid Seoul’s stepped-up push to secure the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, estimated at 60 trillion won ($41 billion).
“Minister Ahn emphasized that the Republic of Korea’s participation in the next-generation submarine project, which Canada has been pushing for, will go beyond just a simple arms export to serve as a turning point that will substantially develop bilateral defense and arms industry cooperation,” the defense ministry said in a release.
“He also underscored that South Korea can be the best choice for Canada, which is seeking a mid- and long-term partnership as mentioned in its Defense Industrial Strategy,” it added.
