Ottawa, 23 February 2023 (TDI): The Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development of Canada, Harjit S. Sajjan will travel to Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Qatar from 24 February to 5 March.
During his visit to Bangladesh and the Philippines, Minister Sajjan will meet with Senior Officials of both countries on shared priorities.
This includes issues related to climate change, food security, green and inclusive growth disaster response, and readiness and advancing gender equality.
In Bangladesh and the Philippines, Minister Sajjan will also visit Canada-funded projects and meet with development and humanitarian partners and beneficiaries.
In addition, he will discuss potential areas of cooperation aligned with Canada’s recently announced Indo-Pacific Strategy and, in Bangladesh, Canada’s strategy to respond to the Rohingya and Myanmar crises.
Under the Indo-Pacific, Strategy Canada will expand education exchanges and bolster Canadian organizations and experts to engage in both countries.
It is also expected that Canada will increase their Feminist International Assistance under Feminist Foreign Policy to address local development challenges such as women empowerment and gender equality.
Furthermore, as Canada is committed to fighting climate change and ensuring a sustainable and green future, Canada will share expertise in clean technology and disaster readiness and management with both countries.
5th UN Conference on LDCs
During the visit to Qatar, Minister Sajjan will attend the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries at Doha.
In Doha, Minister Sajjan will highlight Canada’s Partnership to reduce poverty and advance sustainable development in the least developed countries.
It is also to be noted that the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is held every 10 years. This year’s conference will mark the beginning of the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs for the 2022 to 2031 decade.
Seven of Canada’s top 10 development partners are LDCs. Last year, Canada provided $3.15 billion in funding to these countries through bilateral and regional programming.
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Upon his departure, Minister Sajjan said, “Our world is facing the effects of climate change and food insecurity, as well as increasing humanitarian needs.
I look forward to working with my counterparts and many partners over the coming days to discuss how we can continue to work together to effectively address these shared priorities.”
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