Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, April 23, 2012

I would like to thank you for welcoming me so warmly to Brazil.

My wife, Sharon, the Canadian delegation and I are delighted to be here to celebrate our relationship, but more importantly, to see how we can strengthen it even further.

Canada and Brazil share many similarities in geography, history and society; it is no surprise that we can co-operate on many different levels.

But what truly brings us closer together today is our shared focus on strengthening education and innovation.

I have been very interested in hearing about Brazil’s commitment to improving education and the strides your country has made in the last decade. 

Your innovation culture is also one that has attracted much interest from Canada. The beautiful cities of Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are renowned for their effective governance, business opportunities, ongoing innovation and educational achievements, and I look forward to exploring them during my time here.

I am especially thrilled to highlight Canada’s agreements with Brazil, such as Canada’s commitment to Brazil on your Science Without Borders program, Canada-Brazil Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation, and to lead a delegation to the Conference of the Americas on International Education. This will be a wonderful opportunity to promote the great strides Canada and Brazil have made together and to showcase the innovative aspects of our universities.

Throughout my visit, I will be speaking with Brazilians to see how best we can further our relationship by practising what I like to call the diplomacy of knowledge.

In short, this type of diplomacy rests on the sharing of knowledge at all levels, and across all disciplines and borders. From students to business leaders, we are strengthened when we work together.

In an increasingly globalized world, success lies in how we can collaborate to achieve our respective goals. I hope that my time here will allow me to explore our relationship more deeply and discover how we can do even more to benefit both our peoples.

Minister, let me raise a glass to the success of our many partnerships and to our respective citizens who are committed to the sharing of knowledge.