Opportunities for Australia and Canada to accelerate the development of critical minerals, deepen trade ties and increase collaboration were some of the key themes at the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum, held in Toronto, Canada from July 17 to 19.

The event brought together public and private sector leaders from Australia and Canada to discuss global challenges and opportunities facing the two countries, and to identify areas of improved collaboration in trade and investment, global security, foreign policy, economic growth, innovation and technology, energy, and education.

Rag Udd, BHP’s President Americas, attended the forum and participated in a panel discussion focused on how both countries can strengthen engagement in the Indo-Pacific region – the fastest growing economic region in the world and home to the majority of BHP’s customers.

He was joined on the panel by Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott AO, Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder, and Mairead Lavery, President and CEO of Export Development Canada.

“On a global scale, Canada and Australia are relatively small economies. Nonetheless, we are superpowers when it comes to natural resources, absolute superpowers, and the world is going to need the resources and the expertise we have to advance decarbonization, to drive forward the energy transition and to be able to feed a growing world population,” Udd said.

“If we can collaborate more when it comes to simplification around regulation, predictable fiscal regimes, adoption of new technologies and how to make more efficient processes and systems, I think Canada and Australia can play a key role in supercharging the economies of the Indo Pacific by leveraging the joint expertise we have built up in the natural resources sector.”

Udd also stressed the importance of building deep and lasting relationships with partners across the Indo Pacific region as a key factor for success.

“For me, it's all about relationships, and those relationships take a long time to get established. To take one an example, I’m still dealing with the same individual at one Japanese trading house that I was 20 years ago. When you build deep and enduring relationships, trust is built and business flows.”