NR–08.067 - September 6, 2008
OTTAWA – The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced today the successful conclusion of the VIII Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas (CDMA), held from September 2-6 in Banff, Alberta.
Also in attendance were Chief of the Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk and Laurie Hawn, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, who continued Minister MacKay's role as host and brought the conference to a close.
"Canada is proud to have hosted this important meeting, which offered a unique opportunity for Ministers of Defence to meet face-to-face," said Minister MacKay. "I thank my ministerial colleagues for making this meeting an unqualified success. There's much that we can do in our own neighbourhood, and we have strengthened our collective commitment to cooperation and collaboration on important issues such as disaster relief, peacekeeping, and nationally- or regionally-hosted events."
Defence ministers or their representatives from 31 western hemisphere nations were in attendance at this year's gathering. Three days of deliberations, and bilateral and multilateral meetings, culminated in the release of a final Declaration, which further strengthens civil-military relations in the hemisphere and enhances bilateral and regional relationships.
On September 3, Minister MacKay also signed Memoranda of Understanding with his counterparts from Guatemala, Honduras and Bolivia under the Military Training Assistance Programme (MTAP). These agreements will further strengthen bilateral relations between Canada and the Caribbean and Latin American nations, and serve to enhance security within the Americas. MTAP is a key instrument of defence diplomacy that advances Canada's contribution to international peace and security.
The CDMA was created in 1995 to provide a forum for defence ministers to share ideas and experiences on contemporary regional defence and security issues. As part of the Summit of the Americas process, the CDMA has emerged as an important means to promote security and stability in the hemisphere. The hosting of the Conference is another concrete example of Canada's active engagement in the hemisphere and of its commitment to promoting peace and security in the Americas.
The next CDMA meeting will be held in 2010, in Bolivia.
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