Visit to Canada of Her Excellency Gabriela Michetti, Vice-President of the Argentine Republic

From September 29 to October 4, 2016, Her Excellency Gabriela Michetti, Vice-President of the Argentine Republic, visited Ottawa and Toronto at the invitation of the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate.

The delegation was composed by Mr. José Ignacio Ortiz Amaya, Director General of International Relations of the Argentine Senate; Mr. Daniel Meilán, Secretary of Mining; Mr. Ricardo Negri, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries; Mr. Miguel Braun, Secretary for Trade; Mr. Daniel Raimondi, Undersecretary of Economic Integration; Mr. Luis del Solar Dorrego, Director for North America, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship; Mr. Alfredo Bascou, Director of Export Promotion, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship; Mr. Gustavo Infante, Assistant Director for Bilateral Economic Negotiations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship; Ms. Gabriela González Riollo, Personal Assistant to the Vice-President; Ms. Paula Schuster, Director General of Institutional Communications of the Argentine Senate; and Ms. Micaela Mendez, Social Security Disability Programs. His Excellency Marcelo Suárez Salvia, Ambassador of Argentina to Canada, Mr. Sebastián Palou, Second Secretary, Mr. Franco Senilliani, Third Secretary, and Mr. Emiliano Montagna, Administrative Attaché at the Embassy of the Argentine Republic to Canada, also accompanied Vice-President Michetti during the visit.

While in Ottawa, the Vice-President held meetings with:

• The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada;
• The Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable V. Peter Harder, P.C., Senator, Government Representative in the Senate;
• The Honourable Stéphane Dion, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, P.C., M.P., Minister of Sports and Persons with Disabilities;
• The Honourable Patricia A. Hajdu, P.C., M.P., Minister of Status of Women;
• The Hon. Robert Nault, P.C., M.P., Chair, and Members of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas; and
• Dr. Jacques Frémont, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Ottawa.

Prior to Ottawa, the Vice-President visited Toronto, where activities included a meeting with Ms. Soo Wong, MPP, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and a visit of the Assembly buildings. She also met with representatives of the Canadian private sector and visited the Royal Ontario Museum and the CN Tower.

The main objective of the visit of Vice-President Michetti to Canada was to impulse the renewal and strengthening of the bilateral relations between Canada and Argentina.