TED MENZIES CONCLUDES SUCCESSFUL TRIP TO MIDDLE EAST

May 23, 2007

CLARESHOLM, AB - Ted Menzies, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and to the Minister of International Cooperation, concluded a successful mission to Jordan last week, where he attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East.

The WEF was hosted by Jordan and theme was Putting Diversity to Work and highlighted efforts to accelerate economic diversification and emphasising promoting peace and understanding in the Middle East region.

“Peace, stability, development, and prosperity are aspirations that Canadians and Jordanians share,” said Menzies. “Canada values Jordan’s position as a stable and moderate country within the Middle East, and we continue to support Jordan’s reform process. As a result of this support, we hope to see further steps towards political participation as well as social and economic reform throughout the Middle East.”

During the May 17th to 22nd visit, Menzies met with Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Al-Bakhit as well as the Jordanian Ministers of Trade, Education and Planning. He also conferred with Canadian officials and attended an official dinner which included 14 Heads of State.

“The Middle East has become an exciting and dynamic region for trade, and Canada has a lot of gain from increased trade and investment,” said Menzies. “My trip, along with my meetings with the Jordanian Prime Minister and Minister of Trade have hopefully laid the groundwork for more cooperation and collaboration, both at the government and business levels.”

During this trip, Menzies also visited the al-Baqa’a refugee camp and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) sponsored Education District and School project in Badia al-Wusta.

CIDA’s principal education project in Jordan is called the Education Reform for Knowledge Economy (ERfKE) Project. This sector-wide project is a comprehensive five-year initiative that supports Jordan’s National Education Strategy. The ERfKE project seeks to re-make Jordan’s primary and secondary education to meet the needs of a modern, knowledge-based economy. This multi-donor project has been a regional role-model in education reform with a value of US$390 million. Canada’s contribution is C$20 million.

For more information on CIDA’s programming in Jordan, please visit our website at www.acdi-cida.gc.ca. Further information regarding International Trade with the Middle East can be found at www.international.gc.ca.