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Prime Minister to attend NATO Summit
February 18, 2005
Ottawa, Ontario
NEWS RELEASE
Prime Minister Paul Martin announced today that he will participate in a Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium, on February 22, 2005. While at the Summit, the Prime Minister will discuss a new Canadian contribution toward the training of Iraqi security forces.
"Our partnership with the US and our European Allies in the NATO Alliance provides an effective multilateral instrument to address new security challenges, including terrorism and failed states," said the Prime Minister. "Alliance forces are playing critical roles in advancing peace and security in the Balkans, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. A strong and unified Alliance is essential to meet Canada’s security interests."
The Prime Minister will fly to Belgium for the Summit on February 20. On February 21, he will meet with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as well as Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. On February 22, he will first participate in a meeting of NATO leaders with the newly elected President of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko. He will then participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s governing body, and a leader’s working lunch hosted by the NATO Secretary General. In addition to the NATO meetings, the Prime Minister will meet with NATO leaders bilaterally.
At the Summit, leaders are expected to discuss ongoing NATO operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, its partnerships with nations outside the Alliance and progress in NATO’s transformation. Currently, Canada’s largest NATO deployment is in Afghanistan, with 700 troops stationed in the capital, Kabul. Canada will augment its presence in Afghanistan through a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) starting in August. The PRT will bring together military and civilian personnel in a coherent Government of Canada effort to reinforce the authority of the Afghan government in Kandahar province. The team will monitor security, promote Afghan government policies and priorities with local authorities, and facilitate security sector reform.
The Prime Minister will inform his counterparts of a C$1 million contribution to the NATO Trust fund for the purposes of training Iraqi security forces. This contribution will help build Iraqi capacity to ensure security, which is an essential foundation for democratic governance and economic reconstruction.
The Prime Minister will also announce Canada’s willingness to deploy up to 30 Canadian Forces trainers to assist in the training of Iraqi security forces in countries of the region outside of Iraq. The details of the deployment will be defined in conjunction with NATO. These initiatives will serve to complement Canada’s ongoing contribution of 20 police trainers to the Jordan International Police Training Centre.
Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew will also join the Prime Minister in the meeting with President Yushchenko and in the North Atlantic Council, and will meet separately with Allied foreign ministers over a working lunch.
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