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Stetski to represent Canada on diplomatic mission
Kootenay-Columbia MP Wayne Stetski will be joining the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development as it begins a 12-day diplomatic mission to four countries – Ukraine, Latvia and Poland in Eastern Europe, and Kazakhstan in Central Asia, today.
The purpose of the committee’s travel is to learn about key political, security and other issues in these countries through meetings with a variety of stakeholders. This will allow committee members to understand the Canadian interests that are at stake, the kinds of assistance and engagement that countries in these regions are seeking from Canada, and the optimal approach for Canada’s policies toward them.
The Committee will hold hearings in Ottawa on these subjects following the completion of the mission.
“It will be a tremendous honour to represent Canada on this trip and take part in the important work of strengthening relationships with the nations we are visiting,” said Stetski. “It’s all about showing Canada’s support for these countries and then talking about trade and talking about peace.”
While all of the countries being visited were either part of – or dominated by – the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the political and economic transitions they have experienced over the past 25 years have been distinct and varied.
In Eastern Europe, the committee will be exposed to the situations in Poland and Latvia, which have both joined the European Union and NATO in the years since the end of the Cold War. They will also visit Ukraine, which has not yet joined either institution. That country is also suffering from the illegal annexation of Crimea, and with an ongoing separatist conflict in its Donbas region.
Like the other countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan has largely maintained its key political and economic links to former republics from the Soviet period over the past quarter-century. At the same time, it has also pursued relations with other countries, including Canada, and has opened itself to the global economy.
Further information on the Committee’s current work is available on its website.
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