SPEECHES
September 25, 2006
OTTAWA, Ontario
2006/15
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
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.
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