STATE VISIT TO THE UNTED MEXICAN STATES - Speech at the Senate

The Governor General shook hands with Senator Carlos Naverrete Ruiz, President of the Senate following her speech.

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, The Governor General delivered a speech to the chamber in full of the United Mexican States Senate.

"We must be bold and build on the dynamic relationship between Canada and Mexico, and this in a number of important aspects of society. Not only are we major trading partners, thanks to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, but we have also implemented innovative mechanisms, such as the Canada-Mexico Partnership, launched in 2004, to promote co-operation and dialogue in such areas as investment, innovation, agribusiness, housing, the environment, human capital development, energy, and labour mobility."

"It is therefore in this spirit of solidarity and fellowship that we begin this State visit in Mexico, with an unwavering willingness to remind our respective populations that we are brothers and sisters, in spirit and in heart, and with the hope of creating new opportunities for co-operation."