In pursue of strengthening relations and developing reciprocal cooperation between Canada and the Arab world, the League of Arab States together with the Embassy of Canada in Egypt, held a roundtable discussion on November 1, at the premises of the League of Arab States. The idea of the event is discussing and searching new channels for further deepening and developing the fruitful cooperation and understanding between the Arab World and Canada. At first glance Canada and the Arab world would appear to be separated by significant geographical, linguistic and cultural differences, when in recent years they have been drawn into closer cooperation by human links forged by travelers and immigrants and by the economic links fostered by growing trade and investment. On this special occasion, the Canada Egypt Business Council (CEBC) had the pleasure of holding a special reception in honor of this inspiring visit, welcoming H.E. Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS), the Honorable Bob Rae, Member of the Canadian Parliament and former Premier of Ontario, H.E. Amb. Ferry de Kerckhove, Ambassador of Canada to Egypt, in addition to a group of eminent speakers and guests among which were:

• Dr. Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University.
• Mr. Haroon Siddiqui, Editorial Page Editor Emeritus and Columnist, The Toronto
Star.
• Professor Janice Stein, Director of Munk School of Global Affairs, University of
Toronto.
• Mr. Scott Proudfoot, Sudan Desk, Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs.
• Professor Patrice Brodeur, Holder of the Canada Research Chair Islam,
Pluralism and Globalization, Faculty of Theology and the Science of Religions,
University of Montreal.
• Dr. Ali Tarabay, Professor of Political Science and Deputy President for Academic
Affairs of the Lebanese International University (LIU).
• Dr. Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat, Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of
Economics and Political Science, Cairo University – Egypt.
• Dr. Kadry Hefny, Emeritus Professor of Political Psychology at the Institute of
Higher Studies in Childhood, Ain Shams University – Egypt.
• Dr. Hossam Nassar, First Under Secretary for Foreign Cultural Relations, Ministry
of Culture – Egypt.
• Dr. Gouda Abdel Khalek, Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and
Political Science, Cairo University – Egypt.
• Dr. Abla Abdel-Latif, Professor of Economics, Economics Department, The
American University in Cairo – Egypt.

In his welcoming remarks, Eng. Motaz Raslan, Chairman, Canada Egypt Business Council stated that signing this visit represents a continuity of the mutual cooperation between Canada and Egypt specifically and the Arab World in general in the pursue of strengthening the business relations and joint efforts. “It inspires me and gives me great pleasure to hold this reception to welcome not only Egyptians visiting from Canada but also eminent Canadians and Arab veterans coming together, to discuss relations between the Arab World and Canada, believing that there is enormous untapped potential for further development of Canadian/Arab relations for the benefit of us all”, commented Raslan.

Eng. Raslan also highlighted and praised the role of the Canadian Embassy in Egypt under the leadership of Amb. Ferry de Kerckhove and his efficient staff, in strengthening ties between the two countries in addition to supporting the Council’s activities in every possible way. He also shed the light on the role of the Canada Egypt Business Council and its main aim as to foster the development of relations between Canada and Egypt and to support its members in their pursuit of opportunities for bilateral relations, attempting to find ways to increase bilateral trade. “Our goal has always been to promote a solid Canadian-Egyptian relationship based on our countries’ mutual strategic interests in a secure, peaceful Middle East”, said Raslan.

H.E. Amre Moussa, gave his welcoming remarks and acclaimed the role performed by the Canada Egypt Business Council in deepening the bilateral relations between Canada and Egypt. He also praised the discussions held on the same morning of the reception at the premises of the League of Arab States stating that these discussions and getting together functions to share all point if views and clarify any misconceptions are the elements of setting a foundation for the exploration of new avenues for further development of the relationships between countries.