On Tuesday, the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke to his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Minister Garneau congratulated Secretary Blinken on his confirmation.
Antony John Blinken, 56 who was confirmed Tuesday said it was the honor of his life to serving as the top US diplomat after being sworn in as the newest secretary of state.
Blinken, a longtime Biden associate, was approved by the Senate with a vote of 78-22 earlier in the day.
“My career has come full circle,” Blinken wrote in a tweet Tuesday. “I started at the @StateDept in 1993, and, today, it’s the honor of my life to lead the Department’s women and men as the 71st Secretary of State.”
“I want to thank my colleagues for welcoming me home,” he added.
Minister Garneau and Secretary Blinken spoke about the importance of the Canada-U.S. bilateral relationship based on mutual respect and shared priorities, including the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting supply chains and bilateral trade, the promotion of human rights, and democratic values, and ensuring the strength of both countries collective and bilateral security agreements.
Minister Garneau emphasized the importance of cooperation in areas like the management of the border, vaccines, the movement of critical PPE and personnel, and uninterrupted supply chains to generate economic growth and create jobs on both sides of the border.
Minister Garneau expressed his disappointment at the cancellation of the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, while also welcoming the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to re-engage with partners in multilateral institutions, particularly in the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Garneau and Blinken also agreed to continue to work together on the arbitrary detentions in China of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
Blinken an American government official and diplomat currently serves as the 71st United States secretary of state. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2015 and Deputy Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.