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MANILA, Philippines — Justin Trudeau landed in the Philippines on Sunday with the goal of raising Canada’s profile in the Asia-Pacific region, especially on security issues and trade.

This week, Trudeau will become the first sitting Canadian prime minister to participate in the annual East Asia Summit and is the only one who’s ever been invited, his office said.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Sunday, after she and Trudeau arrived in Manila, that the East Asia Summit will give him a chair at the top security table in the region.

Photo by HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images

He will sit alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump during discussions on the security situation involving North Korea, she said.

“That is a really big deal,” Freeland said of the forum, which is held in conjunction with the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“Canada has never been there before.”