FOREIGN MINISTER GOES TO CHINA

Minister MacKay Announces Trip to Norway, Belgium, China and South Korea

April 18, 2007
No. 58

The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, today announced that he will travel to Oslo, Norway, to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. The Minister will then visit Brussels, Belgium, to attend a high-level event on Afghanistan, travelling next to China and concluding his trip with a visit to South Korea.

The NATO meeting is one of two foreign ministers’ meetings that NATO holds each year. Minister MacKay will then travel to Brussels on April 28 to participate in a panel discussion on democracy in Afghanistan, as part of the Brussels Forum 2007.

In China, Minister MacKay’s program will include discussions with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. This bilateral visit will serve as a further occasion to discuss a number of issues of importance to Canada, including the consular case of Huseyincan Celil, and to set priorities for productive cooperation between Canada and China.

On May 1 and 2, Minister MacKay will visit South Korea and meet Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including Canada’s security interests in the region and the Six-Party talks on North Korea. The Minister will also visit the Demilitarized Zone to see first hand the area of past confrontation with North Korea.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca