The Hon. Mark Brantley, minister of foreign affairs and aviation, with the Hon. Matt DeCourcey, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Hon. Mark Brantley, minister of foreign affairs and aviation, and Sherry Tross, St. Kitts and Nevis High Commissioner to Canada, with the Hon. Geoff Regan, speaker of the House of Commons
Celina Caesar-Chavannes meets His Excellency Mark Brantley, minister of foreign affairs and civil aviation of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Hon. Mark Brantley, minister of foreign affairs and aviation, with Dominic LeBlanc, minister of oceans, fisheries and the Canadian Coast Guard
The Honourable Mark Brantley, minister of foreign affairs and aviation, with the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenshipSKN foreign affairs minister meets with top Canadian officials in Ottawa
From the NIA
CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – The following is a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated June 14, 2018:
Foreign Affairs Minister the Honourable Mark Brantley, on the final leg of his Canadian visit, spent a full day on Parliament Hill meeting with senior Canadian officials. The minister, who sees Canada as a strategic priority for St. Kitts and Nevis’ foreign policy, started his day with a courtesy visit with the Hon. Geoff Regan, speaker of the House of Commons. Both men spoke of the long-standing St. Kitts and Nevis and Canada relationship, and emphasized the need to pursue a deepened relationship, particularly as the federation and Canada celebrates 35 years of diplomatic relations this October.
This message carried consistently throughout meetings with the Hon. Matt Decourcey, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs and the Hon. Celina Caesar-Chavannes, parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development, as well as with senior officials from Global Affairs Canada.
Brantley also held discussions with cabinet officials, including the Hon. Dominic LeBanc, the minister of oceans, fisheries and the Canadian Coast Guard, as well as with the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship. It was with the latter that the foreign minister concentrated on the all-important call for more people-to-people exchange through travel facilitation.
Brantley urged his Canadian colleague to work with St. Kitts and Nevis to remedy the problems associated with travel barriers. He reminded his counterparts the relationship was anchored on family ties, trade and investment that reaches back in time. Both ministers agreed that Kittitian and Nevisian, and indeed Caribbean diaspora, have contributed and continue to contribute to the economic and social fabric of Canada and pledged to work together to find convergence on this important bilateral issue.
During his meetings, Brantley also used the opportunity to have an exchange of views on Canada’s leadership in the hemisphere and internationally on the critical subjects of oceans, climate change and de-risking – all issues of significant interest to small-island states like St. Kitts and Nevis.
He congratulated his Canadian hosts on Canada’s successful staging of the G7 Summit. He also lauded Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland for Canada’s progressive feminist foreign policy and international assistance as well as its signal for increased engagement with the Caribbean.
