Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that he will travel to New York City from September 24 to 26, 2013, to co-host a United Nations event that will focus on the major health challenges facing women and children around the world. He will also participate in a moderated discussion on the economy, hosted by the Canadian-American Business Council.
Building on the 2010 G-8 Muskoka Initiative for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health – a key Canadian initiative – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Every Woman, Every Child initiative during the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2010. Every Woman, Every Child is a global movement mobilizing the resources of governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society in order to address the major health challenges facing women and children, with the goal of saving 16 million lives by 2015. This high-level event in New York will take stock of the results achieved to date and look to sustain momentum of progress in order to meet related global objectives.
“Since making it a priority at the G-8 Summit in Muskoka, Canada has been a world leader in promoting maternal and child health in developing countries. We are delivering on our promise to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said the Prime Minister. “I look forward to continuing to work with partners from around the world to maintain our collective focus on reducing the unacceptable mortality rates of women and children in developing countries.”
The Prime Minister will also participate in a moderated discussion hosted by the Canadian-American Business Council and a roundtable with business leaders. Each of these events will focus on the current economic climate and the importance of fostering closer commercial ties between Canada and the U.S.
“The United States is Canada’s number one commercial partner in the world and our closest friend and ally,” said the Prime Minister. “While in New York, I look forward to promoting Canada as the United States’ business partner of choice and seeking new ways to further facilitate the flow of goods, investment and services between our two great nations.”