Visit of the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Kuwait and Sweden
From March 13 to 19, 2011, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., led a parliamentary delegation on a visit to Kuwait and Sweden on the invitation of their national parliaments. The delegation was composed of Mrs. Raymonde Folco, Mr. Kevin Sorenson, Mr. Pierre Poilievre and Mrs. Judy Foote, MPs. Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Heather Bradley, Director of Communications, Office of the Speaker, and Mrs. Gaëtane Lemay, Secretary to the delegation.
In Kuwait, the delegation met with:
- His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait;
- His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait;
- His Excellency Jassem M. Al-Kharafi, Speaker of the Majles Al-Ommah (the National Assembly of Kuwait) and some of its MPs;
- His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
- Mrs. Moudhi Al-Humoud, Minister of Education;
- Mrs. Maasouma Saleh Al-Mubarak and Mrs. Salwa Abdullah Al Jassar, MPs respectively Chair and Vice-Chair of the Kuwait-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group, as well as members of the Group;
- Mrs. Sheikha Hussah Al-Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Director of the Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah;
- Dr. Michael Churchill-Smith and Dr. Kamran Lari, Co-Directors of the McGill University Health Centre Cardiac Care Project at Kuwait Chest Diseases Hospital, the hospital administrators and Dr. Qais Saleh Y. Al-Duwairi, Assistant Undersecretary, Ministry of Health;
- Mr. Sami Al-Rushaid, Chairman and Managing Director, as well as executives and employees of the Kuwait Oil Company;
- Mr. Abdel Latif Al Hamad, CEO, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development;
- Mrs. Sheikha Al-Nusf and Mrs. Lulwa al-Mullah, respectively Chair and Secretary General of the Women’s Cultural and Social Society, and other women activists; and
- Mr. Robert Drolet, President, and other members of the Canadian Commercial Circle, an organization representing Canadian businesspeople working in Kuwait.
The visit served to highlight the importance Canada attaches to its relations with Kuwait and reinforced existing parliamentary and diplomatic relations between the two countries. The delegation had discussions with various parties about political and economic issues of mutual interest, such as the price of oil, the recent uprisings in certain North African and Middle Eastern countries and the state of democracy and the parliamentary system in Kuwait, and more specifically, the role of women. The delegation also had the opportunity to visit the Ahmadi oasis to tour the facilities of the Kuwait Oil Company and meet its executives.
In Sweden, the delegation met with:
- The Honourable Per Westerberg, Speaker of the Riksdagen (Parliament of Sweden) and members from the governing and opposition parties;
- Mrs. Liselott Hagberg, Third Deputy Speaker of the Riksdagen;
- Mrs. Karin Enström, Member, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and members of the Committee;
- Mr. Bengt-Anders Johansson, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Environment and Agriculture, and members of the Committee;
- Mrs. Birgitta Ohlsson, Minister for EU affairs;
- Mr. Jasenko Selimovic, State Secretary for the Minister of Integration;
- Mr. Ulf Christoffersson, Deputy Secretary General of the Riksdagen; and
- Mrs. Margareta Björk, President of the Stockholm City Council.
With its visit to Stockholm, the delegation underlined the importance Canada attaches to its parliamentary and diplomatic ties with Sweden. The Canadian parliamentarians discussed topics of mutual interest, including the state of the economy, the challenges of integrating newcomers and the fight against climate change with Swedish parliamentarians, senior officials and other decision makers. The members of the delegation also took the opportunity to learn more about the Swedish parliamentary system, government structure and electoral process.
The delegation attended a sitting of each country’s national parliament during which its presence was noted.