By
By Lee-Anne Goodman
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper
and a sizable entourage left Saturday for the Middle East on a six-day
trip that will include a visit to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan.
HARPER
Sean Kilpatrick,The Canadian Press
Harper will address Israel's parliament,
the Knesset, on Monday, making history as the first Canadian prime
minister to do so. It will be the prime minister's first visit to Israel
since winning power in 2006.
HARPER
Sean Kilpatrick,The Canadian Press
Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and wife Laureen depart Ottawa for Israel on
Saturday, January 18, 2014. On his inaugural trip Harper will be
visiting Israel, West Bank, and Jordan.
Spokesman Jason MacDonald says Harper
will promote commercial relations, as well as peace and security in the
region, when he meets Israeli leaders and, later in the week, the King
of Jordan.
Harper is a passionate supporter of
Israel and is expected to receive a glowing reception from Israeli
leaders.
"We have been challenged many times in the region, by Iran, by Syria, by
the attacks of terrorists, and each time he presents his position and
we feel it's the right position; it's not a partisan position," Israel's
ambassador to Canada, Rafael Barak, said in an interview from Jerusalem
in the days leading up to the visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment