OTTAWA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Trade officials of Canada and the United Kingdom announced Thursday they will proceed with negotiations toward a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

       According to a news release, Mary Ng, Canadian Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, and the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan agreed to pursue an ambitious agreement, one that is inclusive and sustainable, and that will "advance our climate goals, strengthen supply chains and help our businesses thrive by benefitting from digital trade."

       The first round of negotiations will begin on March 28, 2022, the news release said.

       During public consultations in the spring of 2021, Canadians expressed strong support for a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

       The United Kingdom was Canada's third-largest individual country trading partner in 2021 for both goods and services, which were valued together at 42.2 billion Canadian dollars (33.7 billion U.S. dollars). Canada exported 24.1 billion Canadian dollars (19.2 billion U.S. dollars) in goods and services to the United Kingdom and imported 18.1 billion Canadian dollars (14.4 billion U.S. dollars) in goods and services in 2021. In 2019, Canada-U.K. trade in clean technology and environmental products reached 677.6 million Canadian dollars (540.5 million U.S. dollars).