The need for Canada’s trade to be well diversified has never been more clear. As Canadian businesses confront the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada will continue to support the growth of established and aspiring exporters.
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, took part in the virtual Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Meeting to discuss multilateral solutions in addressing the global COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery, and action on climate change.
The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, today hosted provincial and territorial ministers responsible for international trade for a virtual meeting. They discussed how working together to strengthen and diversify international trade relationships will accelerate Canada’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yesterday, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, spoke with Amir Peretz, Israel’s Minister of the Economy and Industry.
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will travel next week to Greece, Austria, Belgium and Lithuania where he will meet with key European partners to discuss how the international community can address the situations in Belarus, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, participated in a virtual signing ceremony alongside Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore, and Second Minister for Finance and National Development, to renew the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Canada and Infrastructure Asia (InfraAsia).
The Government of Canada continues to work with international partners to pursue a thorough and credible investigation into the Ukraine International Airlines disaster, which took the lives of 176 people, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents of Canada.
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada will commit over $4.3 million to strengthen defence and broader security sector reforms in Ukraine as part of Canada’s whole-of-government support to the country.
The ministers talked about how open, rules-based international trade is essential for a strong and sustainable global economic recovery from COVID-19. They spoke about the importance of keeping supply chains open for essential medical goods, which is 1 of the 6 areas addressed in the recent Canada-led Ottawa Group Action Plan on COVID-19.