Visit of the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Rome, Vatican City, Skopje, Podgorica and Belgrade
From September 2 to 12, 2013, the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, led a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to Rome, Vatican City, Skopje, Podgorica and Belgrade. The delegation was composed of Mrs. Ann Kinsella; the Honourable Senators Percy Downe and Salma Ataullahjan. Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Janelle Feldstein, Chief of Staff of the Speaker of the Senate, Ms. Elizabeth Rody, Chief of Protocol of Parliament, and Mr. David Gagnon, Secretary to the delegation.
In Rome, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Pietro Grasso, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Italy;
- Mr. Luigi de Maio, Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Italy; and
- Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Honorary President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
In Vatican City, the delegation met with:
- Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States;
- His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect, Congregation for Bishops and President, Pontifical Commission for Latin America; and
- Monsignor Enrico dal Covolo, Rector of the Lateran University.
In Skopje, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Nikola Gruevski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia;
- His Excellency Trajko Veljanoski, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia;
- Mr. Igor Ivanovski, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with the Parliament of Canada;
- Major General Goranco Koteski, Head of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia;
- Mrs. Biljana Markovic, Head of the Skopje Branch of Macedonia 2025, and members of Macedonia 2025;
- Mrs. Valentina Bozinovska, President of the Commission for Relations with the Religious Communities and Groups, and the leaders of the religious groups in Macedonia;
- Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Cosmic Development; and
- Ms. Maya Petruseva, President of the Education Academic Centre.
The delegation travelled to Tetovo where they met with:
- Mrs. Teuta Arifi, Mayor of Tetovo.
The delegation then travelled to Ohrid where they met with:
- His Excellency Gjorge Ivanov; President of the Republic of Macedonia; and
- Prof. Velimir Stojkovski, Rector of the St. Cyril and Methodius University.
While in Skopje, the Speaker of the Senate delivered an address to Parliament and participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at a monument for fallen heroes of Macedonia. While in Ohrid, the Speaker gave a lecture at St. Paul the Apostle University. The delegation also appreciated the culture of the country by briefly visiting various religious, cultural and historical sites.
In Podgorica, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Filip Vujanovic, President of Montenegro;
- His Excellency Milo Djukanovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro; and
- His Excellency Ranko Krivokapic, President of the Parliament of Montenegro.
The delegation travelled to Tivat where they met with:
- Mr. Krsto Bošković, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Tivat; and
- Porto Montenegro officials.
The delegation also went to Bar, where they met with officials from the Navy of Montenegro, and to Miloćer at the Hotel Education Centre to see applied in action Canadian vocational training techniques.
In Belgrade, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Tomislav Nikolić, President of the Republic of Serbia;
- His Excellency Ivica Dačić, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia;
- His Excellency Dr. Nebojša Stefanović, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia;
- Mr. Sasa Radulovic, Minister of Finance;
- Mr. Zoran Bojanić, President of the Serbia-Canada Friendship Group;
- Mr. Miloš Aligrudić, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and
- Dr. Aleksandra Tomić, Chairman of the Committee on Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy.
The delegation travelled to Novi Sad where they met with:
- Mr. Bojan Pajtić, President of the Government of Vojvodina;
- Mr. István Pásztor, Speaker of the Assembly of Vojvodina;
- Representatives of religious minorities in Vojvodina; and
- Prof. Dr. Miroslav Vesković, Rector of the University of Novi Sad.
While in Belgrade, the delegation had the opportunity to meet with stakeholders and Canadian representatives involved in numerous economic activities in Serbia. They were also able to meet with representatives from Tennis Canada at a reception organized by the Canadian Embassy. The delegation appreciated the culture of Serbia by briefly visiting various sites throughout their stay in Serbia.
The main purpose of the visit was to promote Canadian interests and democratic values and contribute to good public governance by means of parliamentary diplomacy which is an ideal forum for exchanging ideas, fostering mutual understanding and trust, enhancing cooperation and building goodwill among countries.
In the five countries visited, specific objectives were met. In Rome, the meetings stressed the importance of promoting better collaboration between container shipping ports and also of mobility agreements. In Vatican City, the themes of the meetings touched on inclusion and inter-faith dialogue. In Skopje, the need to enhance our educational, defence and economic cooperation was emphasized. In Podgorica, there was agreement that both countries would benefit from an increase in trade. In Belgrade, the meetings highlighted the range of Canada’s interest in the region and provided an opportunity to promote the sharing of research in the area of agriculture.
The importance of ongoing parliamentary dialogue and future parliamentary exchanges was discussed in all countries, as was the benefits of increasing student and academic exchanges. The visit in the Balkans was the first Canadian high-level visit to the region since 2010.