October 15, 2014 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today concluded a successful visit to Kuwait, where he met with His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait, and other senior officials to advance a number of foreign policy priorities and reiterate Canada’s strong commitment to working with Kuwait and other allies to combat the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“Canada’s relations with Kuwait have been particularly strong since we participated in the liberation of Kuwait more than 20 years ago, during the First Gulf War,” said Baird. “I am grateful to Kuwait for its generosity in providing facilities for Canada’s military operations in Afghanistan and, more recently, for allowing the upgrade of those facilities to serve as a support hub for our operations in Iraq.
“ISIL has directly threatened both Canada and Kuwait. We are working together to meet this challenge face on.”
While in Kuwait, Baird also met with His Excellency Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Prime Minister; His Excellency Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; and His Excellency Lt. General (ret.) Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.
He also visited Camp Canada, the support hub for Canada’s military in the region, where he met with Canadian and Kuwaiti military personnel.
On October 7, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada, as part of its military engagement in Iraq, will provide up to 600 Canadian Armed Forces personnel, as well as aircraft and other equipment, for a mission of up to six months.
Kuwait is a priority market for Canada under the Global Markets Action Plan and a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement between Canada and Kuwait came into force on February 19, 2014.
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