Visit to Canada of His Excellency Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, Speaker of the House of Elders of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From April 20 to 25, 2015, His Excellency Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, Speaker of the House of Elders of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, led a parliamentary delegation to Ottawa and Toronto at the invitation of the Honourable Pierre Claude Nolin, Speaker of the Senate.  The delegation was composed of Mr.  Mirbahador Wasifi, Senator, Mr. Sayed Hafizullah Hashimi, Secretary General of the House of Elders, and Mr. Shamsurhman Muslimyar, Senior Advisor and Member of Nangarhar Provincial Council.  Mr. Abdul Qader Zazai, Member of the House of the People of Afghanistan, joined the delegation during the meetings in Toronto. Accompanying the delegation in Ottawa and Toronto were Mr.   Mohammad Dawood Qayomi, Chargé d’affaires and Acting Ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada, Ms. Laila Ayan, First Secretary, Mr. Wahid Sheerzuy, First Secretary, Mr.  Najibullah Safi, Second Secretary, Mr. Ghulam Nayab, Business Development and Promotion Programs, Ms. Nazifa Langaryan, Consul General, Mr. Sayed Roydar, Trade Officer and Mr. Abdul Matin, Official Photographer.

While in Ottawa, the delegation met with:

• His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada;
• The Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• The Honourable Chris Alexander, P.C., M.P., Minister of Citizenship and Immigration;
• The Honourable Raynell Andreychuk, Senator, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade and members of the Committee;
• The Honourable Salma Ataullahjan, Senator, Chair of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and members of the Group; and
• The Honourable Peter Kent, P.C., M.P., Chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence of the House of Commons, Mr. Dean Allison, M.P., Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development of the House of Commons, and members of both Committees.

In Toronto, the delegation participated in a roundtable with Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, toured the Legislative Assembly and met with the Speaker, the Honourable Dave Levac, M.P.P.  They also met with representatives of Afghan-Canadian organizations and members of the Afghan diaspora.

The visit to Canada provided an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and the two parliaments. Discussions focused on issues of mutual concern such as security, Canada’s development assistance and cooperation in the Afghan peace process, and opportunities for future cooperation and exchanges at the parliamentary level, including the re-establishment of the Canada-Afghanistan Parliamentary Friendship Group.