Ottawa, Ontario
3 November 2014
During the State Visit of French President François Hollande to Canada between November 2 to 4, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Hollande announced that Canada and France have finalized a Technical Arrangement to establish a Franco-Canadian Defence Cooperation Council.
Canada and France will sign the arrangement at a later opportunity.
This bilateral initiative will further strengthen high-level defence dialogue between the two countries and enhance defence and security cooperation on a range of priorities, such as:
- Working closely together at NATO;
- Operational dialogue among all armed services, including the revitalization of the Franco-Canadian Military Cooperation Committee;
- Capability development to enhance interoperability for the conduct of combined and, where feasible, joint operations;
- Mutual operational support; and,
- Defence materiel and research and development linkages to leverage governmental, industrial and academic cooperation.
The Council will provide a forum for a strategic defence dialogue across defence institutions, in which both countries can effectively assess progress on existing activities, discuss and confirm future intentions, and shape the future scope of the Canada-France bilateral defence relationship.
The Council will also support ongoing engagements at the Ministerial and Chiefs of Defence levels, to examine the work carried out under the auspices of the Council and to discuss new opportunities for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation.
