Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, looks on as Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a joint news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday. AP-Yonhap

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met in Ottawa on Friday and agreed to strengthen cooperation on minerals and natural resources to help secure stable supply chains.

The two leaders discussed a wide range of topics during their summit, including cooperation on technology, climate change, people-to-people exchanges and North Korea. In a joint statement, they announced the countries are elevating their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

"Today's talks were very meaningful in that they took place against the backdrop of a combination of challenges faced by the international community, including a pandemic, supply chain disruptions and climate change," Yoon said in a joint press conference following the summit.

"We agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries on economic security," he continued, noting that both nations play important roles in global supply chains, with South Korea being a key producer of semiconductors and batteries and Canada being a top producer of minerals.

"We plan to build a cooperation regime in the area of minerals and natural resources between the governments and businesses of the two countries in order to secure stable supply chains after the pandemic," Yoon said.

The two sides will communicate closely through high-level diplomatic and trade channels in order to be able to respond actively to "shocks caused by changes in the international order," he added.