January 17, 2020 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, today concluded a successful 7-day visit to Sudan, Mozambique and Ethiopia that focused on Canada’s engagement in the region.
The trip was an important opportunity to engage with African partners in a sustained and meaningful way on shared opportunities and priorities.
In Sudan, Parliamentary Secretary Oliphant and Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced Canada and Sudan’s intention to reciprocally elevate diplomatic representation to the ambassadorial level. Parliamentary Secretary Oliphant also met with members of the government’s Sovereign Council, Sudanese youth and representatives of women’s organizations and Canadian and Sudanese businesses to discuss the country’s transition to a civilian-led democracy.
In Mozambique, Parliamentary Secretary Oliphant attended the inauguration and met with the recently re-elected president, Filipe Nyusi, hosted a dinner on peace and security with representatives from across the continent, visited a health facility funded by Canada and paid respects at the Matola Raid Memorial, where the apartheid regime in South Africa assassinated 13 people in 1981.
In Ethiopia, the Parliamentary Secretary met with President Sahle-Work Zewde and State Minister Hirut Zemene and visited the African Union (AU) to meet with the Deputy Chairperson of the AU, Kwesi Quartey. Parliamentary Secretary Oliphant also met with civil society representatives to discuss civic engagement in Ethiopia in advance of the upcoming elections. He also paid his respects to the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 crash at the Embassy of Canada’s memorial to the crash.
During the visit, Parliamentary Secretary Oliphant announced 7 projects of more than $43 million that will address shared priorities in the region, including promoting women’s and girls’ economic empowerment and participation and their sexual and reproductive health and rights, combatting barriers to education and providing support for critical recovery activities in the wake of cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019.