SPEECHES

September 25, 2006
OTTAWA, Ontario
2006/15

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NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY

THE HONOURABLE PETER MACKAY,

MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND

MINISTER OF THE ATLANTIC CANADA OPPORTUNITIES AGENCY,

ON THE OCCASION OF THE AFRICAN AMBASSADORS’

BREAKFAST MEETING

I am delighted to be here with you this morning. I look forward to sharing some thoughts on Canada's engagement with Africa and to hearing your views on how Canada can work more effectively with our African partners in pursuit of our shared objectives.

Canada's policy toward Africa is driven by the fundamental objective of promoting Africa's development to help ensure that the countries and peoples of Africa assume their full potential in the global community. It is in Canada's interest to see a peaceful, stable and prosperous Africa. As increasing numbers of Canadians are discovering, Africa offers a vast range of opportunities for partnership, including in the areas of trade and investment, development cooperation, political dialogue, and academic and cultural exchanges.

As Foreign Minister, I seek to provide leadership within my Government—and indeed, Canadian society—in encouraging the growth of this partnership. As envoys of African countries, you likewise play a key role in fostering the development of our ties with your countries.

The new Government of Canada, while recognizing the great challenges that Africa faces, sees some very positive trends on the continent.

Africa's leadership in 2001 launched the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which established a vision for the continent and set out principles of good governance to which African governments committed themselves. The following year, the African Union was formally launched, which also demonstrated the commitment of Africa's governments to work closely together to overcome challenges and promote integration.

Canada is pleased to see that the principles of NEPAD and the African Union are being pursued energetically by many governments as well as non-governmental organizations in Africa.

In response to this commitment by Africans, Canada is active in numerous ways to help Africa address its needs.

The 2006 Budget reaffirmed Canada's commitment to double international development assistance by 2010–2011 (from 2001–2002 levels), which will see aid rise to approximately $4 billion next fiscal year. Africa will be a beneficiary of this increase.

One of the sectors in which Canada is focusing its development assistance is health. Among the most important is halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. Canada is supporting efforts to combat HIV/AIDS through a number of channels. Our commitment in this regard is reflected by our Government's recent announcement of an additional $250 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, of which approximately 60% will go towards combatting HIV/AIDS.

Our development assistance programs in Africa are complemented by our efforts to encourage business ties with the continent. Africa's potential will not be realized until its private sector develops and international investors are attracted.

It is encouraging to note that after years of stagnation, many African economies are now enjoying sustained economic growth. The economy of Africa as a whole grew by almost 5 percent in 2005 and, according to the International Monetary Fund, is projected to grow by 5.9 percent this year. Not surprisingly, many of the countries that are achieving sustained strong growth are precisely those countries whose governments have embraced and implemented principles of good economic and political governance.

One of the most innovative ways that Canada is contributing to private sector development in Africa is through the Canada Investment Fund for Africa, or CIFA. This initiative, launched last year, provides risk capital for private investment in Africa. The joint public-private fund, by its final close in June 2006, had pooled investment capital of over $230 million. So far, the Fund has invested over $35 million in a range of African sectors, including mining, oil and gas, and is beginning to achieve expected results.

CIFA is run according to internationally accepted practices of environmental, ethical and corporate responsibility, demonstrating that commercial viability and corporate social responsibility can go hand in hand in Africa's development. As an example, in Burkina Faso, CIFA's investment in a mining joint venture between Canadian and South African partners has resulted in a gold mining operation that qualifies for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Socially Responsible Investment Index. The project creates employment and export revenues and sources 70 percent of its purchases locally. The company is also actively supporting the development of new water resources for the local population in the area in which it operates.

For the Government of Canada, and indeed for you as African ambassadors and high commissioners, one of our challenges is to promote awareness of trade and investment opportunities in Africa. We are making progress in this regard, but it will take sustained effort. Many business people in Canada, and elsewhere, continue to be more aware of the conflicts and incidents of poor governance than about the opportunities that the continent offers.

Weakness in governance, however, remains a major obstacle to development, trade and investment. Canada is working in partnership with a number of your countries through our Canadian International Development Agency programs to strengthen governance institutions and ensure more sustainable development.

Canadian parliamentarians participated in the Second Conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) in Arusha, Tanzania, last week. This organization harnesses the formidable energy of parliamentarians to combat the plague of corruption, which is so damaging to development and good governance.

This Government was elected to be transparent and to act both at home and abroad in a manner that is consistent with core Canadian values. These include freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, transparency and commitment to the rule of law.

Canadians, I am confident, will continue to support our partnerships with Africa and our commitment to official development assistance. However, they reasonably expect our investment in Africa to be effective and transparent. Canadians want to be assured that their taxes go to foreign aid projects that reach their targets and do not end up lining the pockets of corrupt officials. My Government is committed to ensuring this.

In projecting Canadian values abroad, my Government takes a firm stand in the face of repression. For example, recently, after some 200 Zimbabweans were arrested for protesting against harsh economic conditions, I called on the Government of Zimbabwe to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens.

I would now like to say a few words about peace and stability, which Canada regards as an essential precondition for Africa to fulfill its potential.

Canada is committed to supporting peace processes and helping the African Union to develop its peace support capacity. Our efforts are focused on three conflict situations: Sudan, the Great Lakes region and Northern Uganda.

The crisis in Darfur is of great concern to the people of Canada. Violence has increased not only between the signatories and non-signatories to the Darfur Peace Agreement, but also against African Union peacekeepers, aid workers, women and children. This is unacceptable. The massing of troops by the Sudanese Government, in contradiction to the Darfur Peace Agreement, is leading to a humanitarian, human rights and security catastrophe.

One of the first steps to deal effectively with the looming crisis should be to transition the existing African Union force to the United Nations. As you know, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union has repeatedly called for the UN to assume responsibility for the peacekeeping force in Darfur.

The African Union has done an excellent job in mounting its first peacekeeping mission, as a first responder. Its presence has contributed to the relative stability of the region, as well as allowed for the Peace Agreement to be negotiated. Even after UN transition, the African Union would still have an important role to play in building the peace and in encouraging more parties to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Canada has pledged more than $190 million since 2004 to the African Union Mission in Sudan. This has included the provision of armoured personnel carriers, fixed wing and helicopter transportation and fuel.

Collectively, we must continue to reassure Sudan that the goal of the UN peacekeeping force is to restore peace and security in Darfur, to improve the humanitarian situation and to build trust and confidence among the parties to the conflict. A lasting peace would show that Africa and the world will not turn a blind eye yet again to another humanitarian crisis in Africa.

Turning to another part of Africa that has experienced much instability in recent years, one of the major events on the African continent this year will be the Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. This summit, the Conference's second, will take place in Nairobi in mid-December. I hope to attend it in my capacity as Canada's Foreign Minister and as Co-Chair of the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region.

At the Summit, the heads of state and government will sign a Pact on Security, Solidarity and Development. The countries of the region will thus further the strong political commitments they undertook when they signed the Dar es Salaam Declaration two years ago. With this Summit, the Conference process does not end, but rather the countries of the region will then proceed to embark on its implementation phase. Ratifying the Pact and establishing a follow-up mechanism are two important steps the countries of the region must carry out following the Summit.

My Government remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda resulting from the predations of the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion. I raised this issue at the G8 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Moscow in June, and the Chairman's statement at that meeting reflected our collective concern about the situation. Canada has also called on the United Nations Security Council to formally address this long-standing conflict.

In order to play a more active role in helping to end this conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis, Canada is in the process of establishing a diplomatic presence in Kampala in Uganda.

I am encouraged by the ceasefire agreement reached on August 26 between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army, which we hope marks a first substantive step of the peace talks in Juba toward bringing an end to this conflict.

I am also encouraged by the decision of the Government of Uganda to establish a Joint Monitoring Committee to address the political and security aspects of the situation and to oversee Uganda's plan of action for northern Uganda. Working in support of Uganda, the international community must spare no effort in bringing this tragic conflict to an end.

I have mentioned only a few of the regions and ways in which Canada is supporting African governments and peoples striving to realize the NEPAD vision of a peaceful, prosperous continent, fully integrated into the world economy. We recognize that Africa faces enormous challenges and that its needs are acute.

The continent has, however, made gains including the African Union's leading role in conflict resolution, free and fair elections in a growing number of countries, and improved economic growth. We must build on these successes to overcome the challenges.

Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing your comments and concerns.