Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu says he headed to Manila, the Philippines, to advance work on free trade agreements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). (Maninder Sidhu Facebook)

MANILA — Canada ⁠is investing US$2 million ​in an economic hub in ​the Philippines backed ‌by the United States and Japan, its trade minister said on Tuesday.Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu said in ​an ⁠interview during his visit to Manila that the investment will be for a future ‌project aligned with the Luzon Economic Corridor.

The corridor is a key manufacturing hub ⁠on the Philippines' largest island, where Japan and the United States have already committed to ramp up infrastructure investments under a trilateral framework ​agreement.

Canada's participation comes a day after the United States, Japan and ​the ‌Philippines announced the expansion of the corridor to include seven new ​partner ⁠countries such as South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom ⁠(UK) and France.

Sidhu said he spoke with Philippine officials and explored possible investments in data centres, ⁠nuclear energy and logistics.