Embassy celebrates National Flag Day of Canada
The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait held a reception in celebration of the National Flag Day of Canada at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Monday evening with Kuwait Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled AlJarallah and Assistant Foreign Minister for Americas Affairs Hamad Sulaiman M. Al-Mesh’an in attendance.
The event was attended by members of the Kuwaiti Diplomatic Corps, representatives from the Kuwaiti government, members of the Canadian expatriate community and other invited guests.
Canadian Ambassador LouisPierre Emond shared that the relationship between Kuwait and Canada had continued to grow over the last year in all areas of common interest with people-to-people links between Canadians and Kuwaitis at the core of the relationship.
He shared this was best illustrated by the large and always increasing number of Kuwaiti students going to Canada every year, “Close to 500 students are in Canada right now, most of them medical students who will build friendships and relationships with Canadians that will last a lifetime and will spark various commercial, research and scientific exchanges.”
He drew attention to key Kuwaiti projects in Canada which continue to develop positively with further expansion expected soon. These projects include KUFPEC’s KaybobDuvernay shale gas development, PIC’s partnership with Pembina to build a propane dehydrogenation plant and polypropylene upgrading facility, and EQUATE’s operations in Fort Saskatchewan. Ambassador Emond shared that the Kuwait Investment Authority also has assets in Canada.
“Our commercial links are growing and we hope to see continued expansion in areas such as oil and gas, life sciences, defence and security, agriculture and food, and infrastructure”, he remarked.
He continued, “Kuwait is an important partner of Canada, a fact proven by the numerous high-level visits of the past months. Since my arrival in Kuwait in 2018 we received visits from the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the GovernorGeneral Julie Payette, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence, and a Special Envoy of the Prime Minister.”
He shared that the past year was also an important one for Canada’s teams and athletes as, “The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship and their president of basketball operations visited Kuwait as well, and Bianca Andreescu won the US Open of Tennis, so hopefully she will one day get to play in the wonderful new tennis center recently inaugurated.”
He shared that Canada is currently bidding to become a member of the United Nations Security Council in 2021-22. “We watched carefully and learned a lot from our Kuwaiti friends who had a successful tenure on the UNSC over the past two years and hope to be able to represent our shared values on the Council over the next years. Canada has a strong voice on the international stage and is committed to the principle that we are all stronger when we work together. This is why Canada has submitted its candidacy to serve on the UN Security Council. Together, real change is possible. Our priorities will be to sustain peace, address climate change, promote economic security, advance gender equality, and strengthen multilateralism.”
Ambassador Emond highlighted efforts exerted in the area of women empowerment, “Over the last months we were proud to continue to promote women empowerment in Canada and abroad. Here in Kuwait we have organized various events focused on women empowerment in trade, sports and politics. Over the next few weeks we are expecting the visit of Equal Voice Canada, a group focused on increasing women participation in the democratic process. They will share their experience and best practices with women political leaders in Kuwait.”
Ambassador Emond also congratulated HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah on the 14th anniversary of his ascension to power and on behalf of all Canadians, wished Kuwait and its people a Happy National Day and Liberation Day later this month.