NR–12.092 - May 18, 2012
OTTAWA – The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, and the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walt Natynczyk, bid farewell today to New Zealand’s Defence Force Chief, Lieutenant-General Richard Rhys Jones, upon the conclusion of Lt.-Gen. Jones’ week-long visit to Canada. The aim of the visit was to discuss regional security challenges, details of bilateral defence cooperation, and to share operational experiences and lessons learned.
“New Zealand is an important like-minded partner for Canada,” said Minister Mackay. “The visit of the Defence Force Chief allows the opportunity to discuss a broad range of common issues including security and defence, multilateral trade, regional cooperation, counter-terrorism, peace support operations, human rights and humanitarian policy.”
“We were fortunate to host Lieutenant-General Jones and his wife, Deborah, on their first bilateral visit to Canada. Lt-Gen. Jones and I had some excellent discussion, and our spouses met with military family resource and program directors to discuss services offered to CF families,” said General Natynczyk. “This was also an important opportunity for us to update and share our respective views on global security issues, with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific region. We will continue to seek ways to make our bilateral relations even stronger in the future."
During this visit Lt.-Gen. Jones toured various facilities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa. In Toronto, he and General Natynczyk addressed students at the Canadian Forces College; while in Ottawa they attended a Ceremony of Remembrance at the National War Memorial.
Canada enjoys an active and wide-ranging bilateral relationship with New Zealand including two-way visits and meetings of Ministers, Parliamentarians, and government and military officials at all levels.
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For more information about the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff, please visit his Website at:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/ocds-bcemd/index-eng.asp
For more information about Canada-New Zealand relations, please visit the following Website:
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/new_zealand-nouvelle_zelande/bilateral_relations_bilaterales/canada_nz.aspx?lang=eng
