On March 21, 2024, the Inter-American Defense Board received the visit of a delegation from Canada, led by the Director of Western Hemispheric Policy of the Canadian Department of National Defense, Ms. Veronique Fortin.
Among the topics discussed at the meeting, the Board presented to the visitors a General Description of the IADB Collaboration Framework, the organization, interlocutors, activities, challenges and opportunities.
In its approach, the Canadian delegation highlighted the country's investment policy – framed in a foreign policy based on gender equality and also applied to defense actions, the role of the IADB in Canadian defense priorities and the recognition of the strength of the Board as a forum for dialogue on current issues in the field of defense, as well as its permanent and in-depth collaboration with the OAS on issues of overlapping responsibility.
At the Casa del Soldado, the visitors were received by the leadership of the IADB, represented by General Marco Antonio Álvarez (Mexico), President of the Council of Delegates; Brigadier Flavio Luiz de Oliveira Pinto (Brazil), Director General; General Richard Heitkamp (USA), Director of the Inter-American Defense College; and General Carlos Bazán Barrios (Paraguay), Vice President of the Council of Delegates.
The Canadian delegation also included Mr. Julien Proulx, Defense Policy Officer, and Colonel Barry Leonard, Deputy Head of the Canadian Delegation to the IADB.
