On August 11, 2016 the Executive Secretary of IGAD, H.E Amb (Eng) Mahboub Maalim received a high level delegation of the Government of Canada led by H.E. Hon. Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defense. The Minister was accompanied by, H.E. Mr. Philip Baker, Ambassador of Canada to Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the African Union, H.E. Mr. Marc-André Blanchard, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN, Justice Louise Arbour, L Gen. (Retired) Romeo Dallaire, and other seven members of the delegation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The purpose of the visit was to discuss peace and security issues in the region in general with particular focus on South Sudan, Counter Terrorism, and Peace Support Operations. H.E. Amb. Maalim welcomed the delegation and briefed them on the various peace and security issues and the major peace processes in the Region including South Sudan and Somalia. On Terrorism, the Executive Secretary extensively briefed the Mission about the security threats posed by Al Shabaab and the efforts countries in the Region have been making for several years including the on-going process to establish a regional CVE center. He also highlighted on the peace support operations hosted in the region that includes the missions in Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan i.e. the Darfur mission.

H.E. Hon. Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defense appreciated the briefing, as it was useful to forge IGAD-Canada relationships in a more focused manner based on the common concerns. Further exchanges of ideas were made mainly on the role IGAD countries play in peace support missions and the capability needed to tackle transnational security threats.

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Finally, it was suggested that the two sides continue discussions at a technical level to come up with concrete cooperation areas within the peace and security framework. H.E. Amb. Maalim also offered an invitation to the IGAD Headquarters in Djibouti and requested Canada to accredit an Ambassador to IGAD for a stronger cooperation. (END)