May 23, 2014 - The Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular), today wrapped up a visit to Kazakhstan, where she participated in the Astana Economic Forum and met with a number of key government officials and civil society and business leaders.
During her meetings, Minister Yelich advanced a number of Canada’s foreign policy priorities and promoted Canada’s investment ties in the country. Canada has identified Kazakhstan as a priority emerging market with specific interest for Canadian businesses under the Global Markets Action Plan.
As a panellist at the Astana Economic Forum, Minister Yelich provided a Canadian perspective on the important role of women in economies. She also talked about her personal experience as a minister in the Canadian government.
“Attitudes toward women are in constant evolution,” said Minister Yelich. “Old stereotypes have been replaced by new ways of thinking, and that kind of progress has contributed immensely to Canada’s prosperity. “But, despite progress, many gender inequalities remain. That is why the Canadian government is taking steps to support women entrepreneurs. In our most recent budget, for example, we announced a new initiative to increase mentorship among women entrepreneurs and we have invited organizations across Canada to propose projects that will empower women to succeed, with a particular focus on entrepreneurs and professionals.”
While in Kazakhstan, Minister Yelich met with a number of senior government officials, including Prime Minister Karim Massimov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Erlan Idrissov. During the meetings, the ministers discussed a number of issues, including enhanced trade, economic and investment ties, strengthened security cooperation and the promotion and protection freedom of religion in the region. They also discussed the Russian threat to regional stability and agreed to continue working collaboratively in support of democracy in Ukraine.
In addition to participating at the Forum, Minister Yelich met with Assylzhan Mamytbekov, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Agriculture, to discuss opportunities for Canadian exporters, particularly in the areas of cattle, genetics and farm machinery.
Minister Yelich also met with representatives of the Barayev Grain Research Institute, which helps local farmers improve their yields by applying Canadian agricultural technologies. Canadian agricultural practices have proven very transferable to Kazakhstan, particularly in the northern regions, because of the countries’ similar geographical and climatic conditions. In 2010, the Barayev Institute signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Saskatchewan on transfer of technologies.
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