London – Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, concluded trips to London, United Kingdom, where he attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference, and Paris, France, where he attended the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact.
At the Ukraine Recovery Conference, Minister Sajjan announced that Canada will provide a technical assistance grant valued at $20 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience projects. This grant is part of Canada’s support for the High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action. Minister Sajjan also expressed Canada’s support for the launch of the G7+ and the Government of Ukraine’s Clean Energy Partnership for Ukraine, as well as the launch of the Ukraine Business Compact. He highlighted Canada’s support of the Framework on War Risk Insurance to support private sector input into reconstruction activities and reiterated that Canada and Ukraine recently concluded negotiations to modernize their bilateral free trade agreement, which will provide a strong legal framework for Canadian firms seeking to participate in Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.
At the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, Minister Sajjan announced that Canada will invest $50 million in the BlueOrchard Latin America and the Caribbean Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Fund to increase access to financing for women, Indigenous peoples, Afro-Descendants and other underserved groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. With Canada’s support as its first investor, this fund is expected to attract more than $215 million in additional investments.
While at the summit, Minister Sajjan participated in several high-level events, including an event on the key challenges, opportunities and tools required to achieve a new feminist financial architecture, as well as an event on increasing global investment in education to catalyze sustainable development. He also took part in a discussion on improving access to financing for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) through the Bridgetown Initiative and the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index. This discussion was particularly important to the Minister given his role of small states champion under the UN-Commonwealth Joint Advocacy Strategy for Small States. The Minister emphasized his commitment to amplifying the priorities of SIDS and helping to find solutions that work for them, particularly on climate vulnerabilities.
“Canada will remain steadfast in its support to both Ukraine for its recovery and to our partners in the Global South as they tackle the impacts of Russia’s ongoing illegal war of aggression and other crises such as climate change, debt and food insecurity. Guided by our Feminist International Assistance Policy, these new investments demonstrate Canada’s strong commitment to the future of Ukraine and to supporting locally led solutions in the Global South.”
– Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada