An
Overview of Recent Visits to Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean
Hon. David Kilgour, P.C., M.P. and Secretary
of State (Latin America and Africa)
Newsmaker Breakfast, National Press Club,
May 26, 1998
Bom Dia,
Bonjour, Buenos Dias and Good morning.
Many thanks
the organizers of the "Newsmakers'
Breakfast" for this opportunity to
discuss my recent visits to Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean.
These trips,
the first in April to Africa, the second
three weeks ago to Latin America, and the
third, last week, to Barbados, Grenada and
Guyana were opportunities to demonstrate
the importance Canada attaches to these
regions, to explore ways to diversify our
relationship, and promote expanded economic
partnerships.
Visits of
this kind are part of the efforts to make
Canada a more visible presence and business
partner, not only among some economies of
the Americas, but also on the African continent
where economic modernization and political
reforms are taking hold.
There is
also a great value in face-to-face contact
with African and American leaders and citizens
who are working to support democracy, the
rule of law and respect for human rights.
It is one of the best ways there is to let
them know they have a good friend and ally
in Canada.
Africa:
Background on Visit
I was accompanied
by Member of Parliament Jean Augustine and
about 20 representatives from a number of
Canadian firms in transportation, telecommunications,
energy, mining and the services sector on
a business development mission.
Over a 16-day period, we visited seven countries,
primarily in western and southern Africa:
Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Ghana,
Mali, South Africa, and Mozambique.
Business people had an opportunity to promote
their products, technologies and know how
and to meet with some African officials
who provided advice on doing business in
their countries.
A New African Economy
Constant
media images of poverty and Canadian aid
provide a compelling but incomplete impression
of what is happening across Africa today.
Some African countries are moving away from
donor-recipient relations toward mutually-beneficial
economic partnerships.
There are good reasons for being an Africa
optimist today. The establishment of market-based,
private sector-led economies are now the
rule rather than the exception. Annual GDP
growth in Sub-Saharan Africa during 1997
averaged almost 5%, with some nations doing
much better. The purchasing power of African
consumers is growing.
Africa -- and I'm talking here only of sub-Saharan
Africa -- is already a $70 billion market
for the world's exporters.
Canada is well-positioned during this transition
period. We have a long trade and investment
relationship with Africa, which has been
growing significantly in recent years. Our
trade in services is strong -- particularly
in engineering consultancy and information
technology.
Canadians are now doing serious business
there and future prospects are promising.
Canadian exports to sub-Saharan Africa totalled
$750 million in 1997 -- up from $100 million
the previous year.
Now is the time to expand this business
relationship and bring more Canadian companies
into these markets. In particular, we found
that the opportunities exist for Canadian
exporters in sectors that generate foreign
currency, like oil and gas, telecommunications
and mining.
Highlights of the visit
General
Messages
about the African market had already hit
home with Canadian companies on the mission.
(For example, Calgary's Ranger Oil recently
signed an exploration and production contract
with the Côte d'Ivoire government
involving a deep-sea off-shore oil deposit.
Ottawa's SR Telecom Inc. has just completed
construction of a US $4.2-million rural
telecommunications network in northern Ghana).
In Mali, we signed two memorandums of understanding.
The first, worth $5.5 million, supports
the regulation of savings and credit unions,
which will give small investors in West
Africa access to high-security financial
services. The second, worth $4.8 million,
supports grain marketing.
In Côte d'Ivoire, a major regional
and economic player, Canada signed a CIDA
agreement to contribute $4 million in technical
assistance to the Central Bank of the West
African States to set up and operate the
regional stock exchange in Côte d'Ivoire
and West Africa. EFA Software Services Limited
of Alberta, which participated in the mission,
will provide software services for stock
transactions.
In South Africa, by far our largest commercial
partner in sub-Saharan Africa and a major,
developing democracy. Dozens of Canadian
companies have already made substantial
investments and Canadian expertise is highly
valued. Canada can expect to play an even
greater role in providing good governance
expertise to South Africa in the future.
Beyond trade promotion, the visit to Togo
was a key opportunity to pursue a political
dialogue on regional issues and the development
of democracy in the area.
Throughout the trip, I had the opportunity
to raise human rights matters with the leaders
of all countries visited, as well as Canada's
bid for a seat on the United Nations Security
Council, which deals with so many issues
that are crucial to Africa. It was also
a chance to outline Canada's continuing
strong position on Nigeria and the situation
in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone
There are,
of course, still serious problems in Africa.
On the mission, I travelled to Sierra Leone,
one of the countries facing the greatest
difficulties in Africa today.
In Sierra Leone, I participated in a special
visit organized by the Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group (CMAG), along with four other
member countries (Ghana, Great Britain,
Malaysia and Zimbabwe).
We went to Freetown to demonstrate support
for the country's democratically elected
President (Ahmed Tejan Kabbah), who returned
to office on March 10, after ten months
in exile following a military coup.
A seven year long, brutal civil war nearly
destroyed the way of life in Sierra Leone.
It also created a devastated population
of some 6,000 child soldiers, boys and girls
forcibly recruited by rebel and government
forces. These children were the victims
as well as the perpetrators of atrocities,
including sexual slavery.
The problem is so numbing, that special
international programs are clearly needed
to address the severe trauma and social
re-integration needs of these children and
their families. I was heartened to meet
with grass roots organizations, NGOs, church
groups, women's organizations and UNICEF
workers, who are taking a key role in dealing
with this terrible situation.
In March, CIDA gave a grant of $600,000
to the International Red Cross for humanitarian
assistance in Sierra Leone.
Landmines
The last
stop was Mozambique, where some of us watched
the painstaking process of de-mining in
a community where mines were located right
next to the local water supply. It really
drove home the tragedy of landmines and
the human impact of Canada's efforts.
During the visit, we received the wonderful
news that the Government of Mali had ratified
the Convention on Antipersonnel Mines. Of
course, South Africa has always been Canada's
greatest ally in the campaign against landmines.
Latin America:
I visited Latin America to mark the 50th
anniversary of the Organization of American
States (OAS) and as a follow up to the recent
FTAA Summit in Santiago.
The 50th anniversary commemoration in
Bogota,
Colombia was an important step in linking
the activities of the OAS with the goals
of the Summit of Americas.
My visit to Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and
Costa Rica, on the other hand, served to
promote mutual understanding between each
country and Canada on bilateral, regional
and multilateral issues and to build on
solid relationships by enhancing Canada's
bilateral, political and economic relations.
Colombia (April 29-30, 1998)
Canada continues
to view the OAS as the principal venue where
governments can come together to debate
the issues confronting the region with the
help of representatives from civil society,
international organizations, and sectoral
experts from all levels of government.
As the primary forum for political, developmental
and social dialogue in the hemisphere, the
OAS is assuming increasing responsibility
for the implementation of commitments made
by leaders at the Summit of the Americas.
This includes encouraging the progress of
peace, justice, human rights, equal opportunities,
sustainable development, free trade and
the environment.
Canada remains concerned about human rights
abuses in Colombia and raised the issue
with Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Camilo Reyes, and Minister of the Interior,
Alfonso Lopez Caballeros. I also met with
representatives of a number of NGOs which
are concerned about human rights in Colombia.
Ecuador
The purpose
of this visit was to strengthen bilateral
ties with Ecuador. This included strengthening
our relationship on the political, economic,
commercial and development assistance levels.
I specifically encouraged negotiations of
a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA), and discussed
good governance, regional security and integration,
promotion of the Free Trade Area of the
Americas (FTAA), and issues regarding Indigenous
Peoples.
Two-way trade between Canada and Ecuador
reached $ 226.8 million in 1997.
Venezuela
Canada supports
the economic reform process in this country
and touched on issues of co-operation in
the areas of judicial reform, human rights,
Indigenous Peoples, governance, Santiago
Summit follow-up, and Haiti.
Bilateral Trade with Venezuela increased
to almost $ 2 billion in 1997.
Panama
While Canada
and Panama have different views on Central
American economic integration, we remain
strong allies and solid business partners.
In recent months, Canadian companies have
successfully won several major contracts.
Others have expressed their faith in Panama's
future by investing in Panama's casinos
and tourism sector.
The Canadian Government continues to show
support for Panama by participating in all
of its major trade shows and by providing
technical assistance to state authorities
and several indigenous groups.
Canadian companies now hold close to 70%
of all mining concessions in Panama.
Costa Rica
In Costa
Rica, I represented the Canadian Government
at the inaugural ceremony of the newly elected
president, Miguel Angel Rodriguez. I was
able to meet and discuss a number of issues
of Canadian interests with other Latin American
and world leaders and representatives who
were present at the inauguration.
The purpose of my visit was to reaffirm
Canada's presence in the region.
Two-way trade between Canada and Costa Rica
reached $ 249.5 million in 1997.
Caribbean:
Last week I visited Barbados, Grenada and
Guyana. It was my first trip to the Caribbean
since I was sent to Grenada in 1983 following
the U.S. intervention in Grenada, and I
found it extremely interesting.
I met the Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers
of both Barbados and Grenada. We discussed
a number of issues, including the very serious
problem of drug smuggling and money laundering
facing the Caribbean.
Up to 40 per cent of the cocaine entering
North America is trans-shipped through the
Caribbean. Narcotics smuggling and money
laundering pose a particular threat to the
small-island states of the Eastern Caribbean.
Canada is already active in anti-drug activities
in the Caribbean. In addition to the funding
we provide for multilateral and bilateral
programs, Canada's Deputy Solicitor General
Jean Fournier was recently named chair of
the Working Group of CICAD (the Inter-American
Drug Abuse Control Commission) on the Multilateral
Evaluation Mechanism. This group will evaluate
performance and progress by nations of the
hemisphere in the fight against illicit
drugs.
Furthermore, as you are no doubt aware,
leaders at the recent Summit of the Americas
endorsed Canada's initiative to create a
Foreign Ministers' Dialogue Group to look
at long-term solutions to the region's drug
problem.
In each country I visited, Cuba and the
concerns of small economies in the FTAA
process were discussed. CARICOM is generally
supportive of Canada's Cuba policy. CARICOM
states are also working in their own ways
to re-integrate Cuba into the Caribbean
community. Cuba still has a distance to
go in the area of human rights and democratic
development, however, before it can be fully
integrated into hemispheric affairs. There
are a number of steps that will first have
to be taken by Cuba in this regard.
In Guyana, the dominant issue on everyone's
mind is the country's political future.
You may recall that the outcome of the elections
last December in Guyana were disputed. In
January, CARICOM managed to broker an agreement
between the two main political parties that
called for, among other things, an audit
of the election results. The results of
that audit are due this week.
I was pleased to hear both President Janet
Jagan and Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte
express their commitment to respect the
results of the audit and to work together
to rebuild the country. The political uncertainty
of the past few months, coupled with the
effects of a severe drought caused by El
Niño, have depressed Guyana economically,
and the country badly needs its leaders
to work co-operatively to re-establish stability.
It was particularly gratifying to see President
Jagan and Mr. Hoyte shake hands at a reception
hosted in my honour by the Canadian High
Commission in Georgetown. I had tried to
convey to them the need for direct dialogue
and co-operation, and it appears they were
listening.
Throughout my trip I was impressed by the
work of non-governmental organizations.
I found a visit to an artisanal fish plant
funded by CIDA fascinating and was also
impressed by the work being done in the
region by the Canadian Executive Service
Overseas (CESO).
While history, language, culture and Commonwealth
ties remain important elements of the Canada-Caribbean
relationship, we are moving away from the
traditional donor/recipient relationship
of the past. We are focusing instead on
developing a more mature relationship based
on frequent consultations on common interests
of trade, good governance and economic sustainability.
Conclusion:
Finally, it is difficult to draw comparisons
between Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
I would say that trade is the key to development
and economic growth in all three. Of course,
the real test for countries in these regions
will be to grow their economies in ways
that meets the needs of their people. So
I look forward to future trade development
missions and to forums like this one, that
can help to spread the good news about progress
in these regions.
Thank you
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