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Prime Minister to travel to South America and Africa
November 12, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario
NEWS RELEASE
Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that, between November 18-28, he will attend the Twelfth Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Santiago, Chile, and visit Brazil before attending the tenth Francophonie Summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and travelling to Sudan.
“APEC and la Francophonie are very important multilateral organizations through which Canada advances its interests - economic, security and cultural - and shares experiences and expertise with valued partners, said the Prime Minister. My participation at these meetings is an opportunity to engage other leaders on the Responsibility to Protect, the Canadian proposal to create a G-20 Leaders’ Forum, as well as key global and regional challenges.
In Santiago, APEC leaders will explore how to best support the World Trade
Organization's Doha Development Agenda following the “July Decision”, and further study measures to enhance trade facilitation, transparency standards and the fight against corruption in the region. In addition, they will address non traditional threats to member economies – including security and terrorism – and consider ways to make APEC more dynamic and responsive to the demands of the global economy.
International Trade Minister Jim Peterson and Foreign Affairs Minister
Pierre Pettigrew will precede the Prime Minister in Santiago, where they
will attend the APEC Ministerial Meeting, November 17-18, 2004.
The Prime Minister will then travel to Sao Paulo and Brasilia during a working visit to Brazil. He will hold meetings with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and with the business community. The Prime Minister will also meet with students of the Cultural Society of Dombali, a non-governmental organization supported by Canada which raises awareness about racism and racial discrimination against Brazilians of African descent in Brazilian media. The Prime Minister’s visit will coincide with a November 21 to 25 trade mission to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro led by Minister of International Trade Jim Peterson.
Following his visit to Brazil, the Prime Minister will travel to Khartoum, Sudan, to meet with President Omar al-Bashir. In addition to discussing Darfur, the north-south peace process, and humanitarian relief issues, the two leaders will consider practical measures that could be taken to advance the cause of peace in Sudan. The Prime Minister will also meet with United Nations representatives, including Jan Pronk, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sudan, and non-governmental organizations active in the country.
"Canada is very concerned about the serious humanitarian and human rights violations in Sudan,” said the Prime Minister. "I will meet with President al-Bashir to discuss the situation, including measures by the Government of Sudan to fulfill its responsibility to protect Sudanese throughout the country.”
Finally, the Prime Minister will attend the Francophonie Summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He will be accompanied by Jacques Saada, Minister responsible for the Francophonie.
The Heads of State and Government will follow up on a number of decisions taken at the previous summit, which took place in Beirut, Lebanon in 2002. Topics under discussion will include adoption of an international instrument on cultural diversity and development of the first “strategic framework” of la Francophonie, which will define the objectives for the next ten years. Canada had a lot to do with formulating this framework.
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