Mr. Speaker, last week, I visited the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, building on the visit of the UAE foreign minister to Ottawa earlier this month.
The successful visit and the dialogue between our foreign minister and the UAE foreign minister showed Canada's strong engagement with the region. I consulted with Emirati and Turkish officials regarding bilateral relations and regional issues, security throughout the Middle East, trade, commerce and travel.
While in Turkey, I consulted vastly on the increasingly grave situation in Syria and led the groundwork for Canada's participation in the upcoming meeting of the Friends of Syria to be held in Istanbul, which will be attended by our foreign minister. I took the opportunity to meet with the Syrian National Council, where I once again emphasized Canada's position to support freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law for all Syrian people.