Presentation of Credentials (Republic of San Marino,
Kingdom of Bhutan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Afghanistan)

Rideau Hall, Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I am delighted to welcome you to Rideau Hall, particularly since this is a time of great celebration for Canada.

Last week, I was in the community of Mashteuiatsh, home to the Aboriginal people of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, for National Aboriginal Day, a day when we celebrate the peoples who are our deepest roots in the Americas.

Last Wednesday, we celebrated Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a holiday for French Canadians, whose presence has enriched and continues to enrich the history of this continent.  

And now, we are getting ready to celebrate Canada’s 142^nd birthday.

Each celebration highlights the very best of this country; that is, Canadians themselves and the richness of our diversity.

I encourage you to take this opportunity to meet with Canadians. You will find that they are open and share your hopes for peace, freedom and prosperity.

As we move forward in the 21^st century, we need to focus more than ever before on the values we share, rather than on the borders that separate us.

Because the challenges that we are facing today reach well beyond regional and national borders, from the economic crisis to climate change to issues of security and stability.

These challenges require that we work together to find common solutions to the problems we are all facing.

That is why I seize every opportunity to focus on the need for enhanced co-operation and greater solidarity between us, all around the world.

Today’s ceremony is a perfect example of this vision of openness and co-operation.

Ambassador Ludin, we met once before, here at Rideau Hall, during a dinner held in honour of President Karzai’s visit in September 2006.

I am delighted to see you again and to reiterate that all of our efforts and those of the International Security Assistance Force join with yours to give your people the means to take control of their future, with dignity and confidence, and to ensure that the basic rights of every Afghan citizen are respected.

In 2007, to celebrate International Women’s Day, I undertook an official visit to Afghanistan to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of Afghan women.

Everywhere that I went, I was amazed by the unwavering resolve of Afghan women and men to recover from years of distress and despair.

Know that Canadians carry the Afghan people in their thoughts and that they remain central to our priorities and concerns.

There can be no development without security, and no stability without education, infrastructure, improved living conditions or economic recovery.

This is the clear message that our military personnel, humanitarian workers and officials from the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team have shared with me time and again.

We must strive to achieve this objective, together and confidently, even though its price may at times seem very high.

Ambassador Carattoni, although Canada and San Marino have very different histories and geographies, the democratic values we defend are the same.

San Marino is proud—and rightfully so—of having long been a free State.

The third smallest European State after Vatican City and Monaco, and one of the oldest republics in the world, San Marino has withstood the vagaries of time and stands as an example of vitality and determination.

Excellency, Canada is delighted by the warm and friendly relationship that it has with San Marino.

As we build on the strong ties between our countries within such international organizations as the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, we will ensure that our relationship grows stronger.

We are pleased to have you here today, in our nation’s capital, and hope that you will return as often as you may.

Ambassador Nonoo, in June 2007, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain called for increased social dialogue and fair globalization. He said that “[t]here are few things in life that make as much difference to the human condition as a sense of dignity.”

Respect for human dignity is a value we share, both in our respective countries and as individuals.

I have been told that you are one of the 12 founding members of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society.

I have also learned that you launched a campaign to raise awareness of family law called the RESPECT Movement, in collaboration with a national coalition to fight violence against women.

This is a commitment that you and I share, Excellency. Early in my career, I accompanied women and children who were victims of violence, and I continue to defend this cause, so dear to my heart.

Like Canada, your country has included equality between men and women in its constitution, and I could not be more pleased.

And like Canada, there are a great many young people in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and you have made education a priority.

Given this shared priority, I would like to highlight the collaborative ties that have existed between McGill University in Canada and the Royal University for Women in Bahrain since its opening in 2005.

Ambassador Wangchuk, the relations between Canada and the Kingdom of Bhutan are also rooted in a commitment to offer education to every citizen.

In 1963, a Canadian Jesuit priest, Father William Mackey—and I have been told that you were one of his first students—travelled to your country at the request of the Royal Bhutanese Government to lay the foundations of a secular secondary school system.

Since then, over 50 Canadians have taught in your schools, and more than 250 Bhutanese educators have studied in our institutions.

Canada is also proud and honoured to be one of the 22 countries with which the Kingdom of Bhutan has diplomatic relations and sincerely hopes that they will extend to other areas of co-operation, including democratic development, good governance, sustainable development, trade and energy.

Finally, I applaud the transition upon which your country has embarked toward establishing a constitutional democracy.

I would also like to express Canada’s hope that the governments of Bhutan and Nepal will soon reach an agreement with regard to the Bhutanese refugees currently living in Nepal.

Rest assured, Excellencies, that Canada is looking forward to working with all of you, in a spirit of sharing and openness, to forge partnerships that will bring prosperity to our respective populations and the entire world.

I have no doubt that each of you will inject new vigour into the trade, diplomatic, cultural and social relations between our countries.

On that note of friendship, I hope to see you again very soon and to hear your ideas for bringing our peoples together.

Thank you.