South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa last week, discussing ways that the two countries can strengthen their trade relationship and security ties and discussing topics ranging from electric vehicle batteries and critical minerals to supply chains.

The summit comes at a critical time for South Korea. Seoul is scrambling to find more trade partners as it faces economic uncertainty, and few offer the same potential as Canada. Not only does the country possess rich natural resources that ROK manufacturers use to make semiconductors and a range of other goods, but Seoul and Ottawa are aligned on a range of issues from climate exchange to North Korea.