Today, Defence Minister Anita Anand marked the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defence Ministers' Meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Over the past two days, Minister Anand participated in productive discussions with Allied counterparts about the security situation in and around Ukraine, and other security challenges facing the Euro-Atlantic area.
While at NATO Headquarters, Minister Anand joined her counterparts in expressing deep concern over Russia's unwarranted aggression in and around Ukraine. She reiterated Canada's strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity and highlighted Canada's recent announcement of lethal military aid to support Ukraine, as well as a loan offer of up to $500 million.
On February 16, Minister Anand spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, her counterpart from Latvia, and held bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Belgium, France, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.
During meetings with her counterparts, Minister Anand further reaffirmed Canada's ongoing commitment to NATO on several key matters, including:
- Strengthening the Alliance's deterrence and defence posture to ensure it remains ready and adaptable in the face of current and future security challenges;
- Enhancing NATO-EU cooperation in a number of areas, including military mobility, where leveraging the strengths and roles of our respective institutional and national approaches will support the development of coherent and interoperable defence capabilities;
- Advancing the integration of gender perspectives into activities related to collective defence and ensuring the meaningful integration of women, peace, and security in the renewed Strategic Concept.
During the evening of February 16, Minister Anand travelled to the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and other international partners about the situation in the Sahel. Minister Anand reiterated Canada's strong desire to re-establish peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.
On February 17, Minister Anand and Latvia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Dr. Artis Pabriks, co-hosted a multilateral meeting of Defence Ministers representing contributing countries to the enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia, which Canada has led since 2017, and which is Canada's largest foreign military deployment. She also held bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland.
Minister Anand then joined U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, and United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, for a trilateral meeting about the security situation in Europe.
Finally, Minister Anand traveled to Mons, Belgium to visit with Canadian Armed Forces personnel stationed at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), whom she thanked for their hard work in support of the Alliance.
Minister Anand will now travel to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, where she will join Minister Joly to discuss global security challenges with Canadian allies and partners.
