United Nations: Canada highlighted efforts to build renewed partnerships with large economies like India and China, as well as new initiatives with New Delhi to strengthen multilateralism, at the UN General Assembly.
In her address at the high-level General Debate at the UNGA on Saturday, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said that in the economic realm, Canada is focused on what it can control: diversifying its trade and catalysing a trillion dollars of investment in the country over the next five years.
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She said for this, Ottawa is exploring new opportunities with partners in the Indo-Pacific, the Gulf region and Latin America. "This includes building renewed partnerships with large economies like India and China," Anand said.
The minister also highlighted efforts with India and other nations to strengthen multilateralism and boost UN reforms.
Earlier this week, India co-sponsored an inaugural multilateralism summit at UN headquarters, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar co-chairing the first-ever 'Partners for Multilateralism, International Law, Peace & Prosperity (P4M)' Summit along with leaders of Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada and Kenya.
"At a time when we are forming new coalitions, we should also strengthen the multilateral system. This is why Canada and our partners throughout the entire world have started a new initiative entitled 'Partners for Multilateralism.
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"This initiative seeks to support United Nations reform and reform of other institutions to make them more representative, more effective, and more trustworthy," Anand said.
Canada told world leaders that "great powers want the rest of us to accept what we are offered, and too often, state sovereignty, the cornerstone of the UN Charter, has been treated with disdain."
Anand said the world faces serious challenges in the global order, but at their core, Canadians and billions of others around the world want to live peaceful, prosperous, and predictable lives.
"That is why, in the face of this rupture, Canada's goal is to achieve greater strategic autonomy, greater autonomy to make our own choices and to determine our own sovereign future.
"We can no longer afford to be overly reliant on any one partner. Instead, we are diversifying our ties and building stronger relationships with new and old partners alike, so that our people can enjoy peace and prosperity," she said.
Anand said Ottawa will prioritise decisive, effective action by forging issue-based coalitions of nations that share a sense of urgency on common challenges.
"We believe that these coalitions are the most flexible, effective, and immediate way to address emerging global challenges," she said.
