New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt will lead a provincial delegation to Cambodia and South Korea Nov. 12-20, seeking new commercial ties as the province works to diversify export markets.
In Cambodia, the delegation is scheduled to attend the 20th Summit of La Francophonie in Phnom Penh on Nov. 15-16. The Cambodian summit site says the 2026 gathering will be the second Francophonie summit held in Asia, after Hanoi in 1997.
For the South Korea leg, the provincial announcement lists planned meetings with SK On, SK Innovation E&S, Doosan Enerbility, Kolon Industries and Hyundai Engineering on energy and nuclear technology. It names Hyundai Glovis and KOMIR for discussions on shipping, defense logistics and critical minerals.
Port Saint John, DP World, Moltex Energy, JMN, Cooke Aquaculture, Crosby Foods, ThermTest and Ocean Blue Fisheries are among the businesses joining the South Korea portion. Opportunities NB and the Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries will lead that business delegation. Holt said the province wants to explore cooperation on “nuclear energy and hydrogen” and attract investment that supports jobs.
The trip follows the Nov. 9 launch of Local roots, global reach: New Brunswick’s Market Diversification Strategy, which identifies Asia and Europe as target markets. The strategy targets a 15.9% increase by 2030 in merchandise exports from key sectors to markets outside the United States, and a 3% annual increase in the number of companies exporting to Europe and Asia. The mission builds on a market-diversification push outlined earlier this fall; a provincial economic review said U.S. buyers took 90.4% of New Brunswick’s merchandise exports in 2024.
Canada’s 2025 budget set a goal of doubling exports to markets outside the United States by 2035, from about C$296 billion in 2024 to about C$592 billion. The budget said 70% of Canadian exports went to the United States in 2024. Port Saint John President and CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks said the port is focused on infrastructure improvements and working with private-sector partners to support the federal goal.
The provincial announcement lists no investment commitments, projected job total or trip cost. The delegation is scheduled to depart Nov. 12.
