Minister Joly to travel to France, Germany and Belgium

February 13, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that she will be traveling to France, Germany, and Belgium, from February 13 to 18, 2025.

Minister Joly will start her trip in Paris, France, on February 13, where she

and the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Canada’s newly appointed Special Envoy for Syria, will attend the Paris Conference on Syria. They will discuss ways to better coordinate regional and international action to support a peaceful transition in the country, while respecting its sovereignty and ensuring the security of Syrians. While in Paris, Minister Joly will also meet with Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, to exchange on common priorities and on our countries’ responses to ongoing geopolitical conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the situation in Haiti.

Minister Joly will then travel to Munich, Germany, where she will attend the Munich Security Conference from February 14 to 16. At the Conference, Minister Joly will advance key Canadian foreign policy priorities through participation in conference sessions and bilateral meetings, including on defence and security issues focused on the Arctic, Ukraine as well as the Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions. On the margins of the Conference, Minister Joly will host the first G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting under Canada’s 2025 Presidency, during which she will exchange with her counterparts on support for Ukraine, peace and security in the Middle East and other urgent global issues. She will also speak in a roundtable on Arctic security, where she will highlight Canadian investments in Arctic security and defence, and the recent launch of Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy.

Following the Munich Security Conference, Minister Joly will travel to Brussels, Belgium, from February 16 to 18. She will meet with Kaja Kallas, European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). During these meetings, she will discuss common priorities including our ongoing support for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, combatting foreign interference and promoting the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Quotes

“I am looking forward to having important discussions with my colleagues while in France, Germany and Belgium. Canada will continue to work with its international partners, both bilaterally and through multilateral forums, to promote democracy, peace, security and the rules-based international order.”

- Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Quick facts

• The Paris Conference on Syria will bring foreign leaders and ministers together to discuss an inclusive and fair political transition, as Syrians are moving forward after enduring decades of suffering inflicted by the Assad regime.

• Canada and France maintain a rich and strong relationship, rooted in a shared history and common language. As permanent member of the UN Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the G7 and the G20, founding member of the European Union and a key partner within the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, France is one of Canada’s closest allies.

• The Munich Security Conference is one of the world’s leading annual forums on international security and defence policy. It brings together world leaders, senior politicians and leading representatives of academia, industry, non-governmental organizations and civil society to discuss current events and pressing issues related to global security.

• The G7 is a forum designed to facilitate discussion between leaders, ministers and policy-makers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. As President of the G7 in 2025, Canada will demonstrate its leadership and advance meaningful dialogue, collective action and innovative solutions on a variety of issues that include peace and security, global economic stability and growth as well as digital transition.

• Canada and the EU have a deep and ever-growing strategic partnership. The Canada-EU relationship is based on shared values, commercial relations, and institutional cooperation. Our relationship is the EU's oldest formal relationship with any industrialized country, officially dating back to 1959 when we signed the Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy.