(Kigali) Canada announced on Wednesday that it will open an embassy in Rwanda to combat Russian influence on the African continent, shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s arrival in the country. He embarks on a 10-day journey to meet with other world leaders.
Posted at 5:33 p.m.
Justin Trudeau’s plane landed at sunset in the capital, Kigali, where he will meet from Thursday with the heads of government of the other 53 Commonwealth countries for the first time since 2018.
The initial meeting, scheduled for 2020, was, like so many others, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which remains an important backdrop for the talks.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who is attending the summit with the Prime Minister, announced that Canada would establish a permanent embassy in Kigali and appoint an ambassador to this post.
Canada will also appoint a new ambassador to the African Union based in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
She pointed out that Russian and even Chinese influence is increasingly felt on the African continent.
“We cannot be naive, we have to make sure we have diplomats on the ground with eyes and ears who listen to what is happening, to make sure we can play a positive role with Rwanda and the whole region. “, she added.
Food consequences of the war
The consequences of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, have been felt around the world, especially in some of the smaller countries whose leaders will meet in Kigali.
The conflict has triggered a huge refugee crisis. It has also restricted other countries’ access to wheat from Ukraine, often referred to as the breadbasket of Europe because of its large food production.
African countries, 19 of which are members of the Commonwealth, have therefore faced particularly serious food insecurity. The United Nations World Food Program has warned that millions of people in developing countries and conflict zones are at risk of starvation.
Before the war, Russia and Ukraine produced around 30% of the cereals exported in the world. The closure of key Black Sea ports has made it difficult to ship these goods to countries that need them.
Canada will work in several ways to ease the food crisis sparked by the war, government officials said who provided media with a pre-trip briefing on the condition that they not be identified.
Canada has already provided humanitarian support to Ukraine and elsewhere, officials added, and can draw on Canadian farmers’ expertise in storing and shipping crops in difficult situations to help grain Ukrainian to reach those in need.
They also pointed out that Canada grows a significant amount of grain.
Reluctance to condemn Russia
Trudeau spoke of potential measures in a phone call last week with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Canada will also rally support for Ukraine among Commonwealth members and try to convince any leaders who may be reluctant to condemn Russia.
When the United Nations voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council in April, 58 countries abstained in the vote. Of these, 29 were Commonwealth countries.
In Kigali, Mr. Trudeau will participate in meetings with Commonwealth leaders and roundtables on the climate economy. Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are also expected to attend the rally. The Queen attended the 2018 Commonwealth Summit, held at Buckingham Palace.
Trudeau is also expected to pay his respects Thursday at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, in memory of the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi people.
G7 then NATO
Justin Trudeau will then depart for Schloss Elmau, a resort town in Germany’s Bavarian Alps, for the G7 leaders’ summit on Saturday before heading to a NATO meeting in Madrid next week. He will also meet Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish Prime Minister.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has said it expects Trudeau to urge other leaders to act when he is in Germany and Spain.
Congress Speaker Ihor Michalchyshyn said he spoke to Ukrainian defense officials on a recent trip to Kyiv, who highlighted the dire situation they face with dwindling military equipment.
“They don’t have enough weapons. They actually said they were going to run out of ammunition in the coming weeks and months, Michalchyshyn said. If there is nothing substantial announced and operationalized there, the rhetoric is empty. »
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address the G7 and NATO summits, where the conversation will largely focus on economic and military support for the beleaguered country.
Last week in Brussels, Defense Minister Anita Anand, who will join Trudeau at the NATO summit, announced that Canada would deliver 10 replacement artillery guns, worth $9 million, to support the already supplied M777 artillery howitzers.
Several world leaders have met Mr. Zelensky ahead of the series of summits, including Mr. Johnson, who made a surprise visit to Kyiv last week.
Mr Johnson promised more British military training for Ukrainian troops, a path Canada could also follow, according to Mr Michalchyshyn.
Mr. Trudeau made his own unannounced trip to Ukraine last month.
As of the end of January, 33,346 candidates for the Ukrainian Security Forces had taken part in Canada’s training program, called Operation Unifier, since September 2015.
“Operation Unifier was one of Canada’s most significant defense contributions to Ukraine in recent years,” said Mr. Michalchyshyn. Canada should, at this point, follow the example and work in the areas where we are strongest. »
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins urged Trudeau during his visit to Canada last month for a more permanent military presence in the Baltics to counter any Russian perception of NATO’s weakness in the region.
Canada currently has close to 700 soldiers leading a NATO battle group in Latvia, one of many in the region. At a joint press conference with Mr. Karins in Ottawa, Mr. Trudeau announced that a general and six staff officers from the Canadian Armed Forces would be deployed to NATO headquarters in Adazi, near Riga, the Latvian capital, but postponed any major decision to NATO talks.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has drawn more countries to the upcoming NATO meeting in Madrid, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He is the first Japanese leader to join a summit meeting of the North Atlantic military alliance.
Sweden and Finland, which have applied to join NATO, are sending delegations. South Korea’s new president Yoon Suk-yeol has also signaled his intention to attend.
Trudeau is expected to return to Ottawa on June 30, in time for Canada Day celebrations.