Ted Menzies visits Afghanistan

April 17, 2007

Ottawa– Ted Menzies, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and to the Minister of International Cooperation accompanied the Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages on a trip to Afghanistan with visits to the city of Kabul and various locations in Kandahar province.

The visit to Afghanistan, which took place April 12 and 13, 2007, provided Menzies with opportunities to observe work being done on the ground by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to support the local Afghan population and to assist the Minister in making announcements to address the unique challenges facing the people of Afghanistan.

“It was a unique opportunity to see for myself the work that Canada has done to help rebuild the country and the lives of the Afghan people,” said Menzies. “Canada’s support of the Government of Afghanistan is providing opportunities for women that they have never seen before and is improving the daily life of all Afghan people.”

Mr. Menzies began his trip in Kabul, where he joined Minister Verner in meetings with representatives of the Afghan government notably Mohammad Ehsan Zia, Afghanistan's Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development; Mohammad Hanit Atmar, Minister for Education and Ms. Mazari Safa, Deputy Minister for Women's Affairs. They also took part in opening ceremonies for the Canadian government supported Mennonite Economic Development Associates before meeting with recipients of microfinance loans.

In Kandahar, Mr. Menzies and the Minister traveled outside the Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team headquarters to review development projects financed by the Government of Canada as well as to meet with members of the country's oldest community development council.

''Canada is helping Afghans help themselves and nowhere was this more evident than in our meeting with the local community development council in Kandahar. Through a consultative process, villagers are able to prioritize their needs, implement and run projects on their own with our support,'' concluded Menzies.

To see more photos of this trip please click here.

For further details on CIDA’s programming in Afghanistan, please visit the Agency’s Website at: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/afghanistan-e.

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For More Information, Contact:
Office of Ted Menzies, MP
Phone: (613) 995-8471