Today, Defence Minister Anand concluded a productive visit to Madrid, Spain, where she participated in meetings with counterparts and joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit.
On June 28, Minister Anand participated in the High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change and Security, as part of the NATO Public Forum, held alongside the NATO Summit. During the panel, the Minister discussed the impacts of climate change on defence and security, and confirmed Canada will host a NATO Climate and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) in Montreal, Quebec. The CCASCOE will help Canada, NATO Allies, and global partners better understand, adapt to, and limit the impacts of climate change on security. With Montreal's rich network of research, business, government institutions, and international organizations working on climate change and security issues, Canada will work to make this Centre of Excellence a hub of climate change and security solutions.
Canada remains committed to providing Ukraine with comprehensive military aid. At the Summit today, Minister Anand joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where he announced that Canada will donate six additional Ontario-made drone cameras from L3 Wescam and confirmed that Canada is in the process of finalizing negotiations to supply Ukraine with up to 39 armoured combat support vehicles (ACSVs), which will include elements for repairs and servicing. This will complete the allocation of $500 million in military support for Ukraine announced in Budget 2022.
In the context of Russia's illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine, the evolving security situation along NATO's Eastern Flank calls for a longer-term adaptation strategy, and Canada continues to strengthen its contributions to NATO's deterrence and defence posture. To this end, Minister Anand signed a joint declaration with Latvian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Dr. Artis Pabriks, which contains a number of new commitments that will augment NATO's multinational enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Latvia Battle Group, which Canada has led since 2017.
On June 29 and 30, Minister Anand joined Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, for meetings with Allied leaders and Foreign and Defence ministers, as well Leaders and Ministers from Australia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, South Korea, Spain, and Sweden. They also met with NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, and both Ministers Anand and Joly met with their counterparts from Iceland. In addition, Minister Anand attended an informal working dinner with NATO Ministers of Defence and the Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Institución Ferial de Madrid.
On the margins of the Summit, Minister Anand held a trilateral meeting with her counterparts from Estonia and the United Kingdom where they discussed NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). DIANA will comprise a network of innovation hubs, with technology accelerator sites and test centres across Europe and North America. As previously announced, the U.K. will partner with Estonia to host the European Regional Office, and as announced by the Prime Minister today, Canada intends to host NATO's North American Regional Office.
