November 9, 2001
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced that he will attend the International Forum on Federalism in Mexico from November 14-15, 2001, in Veracruz, Mexico. The Prime Minister will deliver the Keynote Address to the Forum on November 15.

"I applaud President Fox’s vision in organizing this conference," said the Prime Minister. "I am confident that this forum will make a positive contribution to the evolution of the federal system in Mexico. This visit will give me a further opportunity to meet with President Fox to discuss bilateral and hemispheric issues of mutual interest in these challenging times."

The International Forum on Federalism in Mexico is organized, at the Mexican government’s request, by the Ottawa-based Forum of Federations and the National Centre of Municipal Development of Mexico. The event will bring together more than 1,000 delegates from Mexico, Canada, and 14 other countries with federal governments. The aim is to discuss the practice of federal governance, to assess Mexico’s federal system and seek ways to reform its structures.

This is the Prime Minister’s first visit to Mexico since the election of President Fox in July 2000. The two leaders have met three times in August 2000 in Ottawa, during the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April 2001, and most recently at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shanghai, China in October 2001.

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