Somalia's Minister of Commerce, Honourable Abdullahi Ahmed Afrah Visits Canada.

Somalia's Minister of Commerce Honorable Abdullahi Ahmed Afrah paid a ten-day visit to Canada aimed at improving bilateral relations and strengthening ties between the two nations. While in Canada, the Minister had a range of meeting with various Canadian officials including the Secretary of Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity Hon. Jason Kenney, Senator Hon. Consiglio Di Nino the chair of senate committee on foreign affair and international trade, Senator Hon. Mike Harb, Director of Bilateral Commercial Relations - Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Borys Wrzesnewskyj MP, Elizabeth Leiva of Foreign and Defense Policy Secretariat, Keith Fountain, Colin Lake of Somali desk at DFAIT as well as Somali Diaspora Community from Ottawa and Toronto. Honorable Abdullahi Ahmed Afrah also met with US Ambassador H.E. David H. Wilkins, Yemen?s Ambassador to Canada H.E Dr. Abdulla Nasher and Ethiopia's Ambassador to Canada H.E. Cetashew Hamussa.

Mr. Afrah and the Canadian officials discussed bilateral relations and exchanged ideas on how to best approach the many challenges facing the East African nation. The meetings addressed many issues of global concern to both nations including global security, good governance, reconstruction and how Canada can lend a hand in the upcoming Somali reconciliation conference to be held in July, 2007 in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Officials from Canadian Friends of Somalia, an Ottawa based non-profit Origination, as well as members from Somali-Canadian Community from Toronto and Ottawa welcomed the minister and facilitated his meetings with other officials.