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North American foreign ministers discuss efforts against terror, Zika virus

Xinhua, January 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

North America's three foreign ministers Friday held talks in Quebec City on fighting terrorism, collaboration to address Zika virus outbreak and combat climate change, news reaching here said.

Following their meeting, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that he believes Canada's future contribution to the fight against the Islamic State (IS) will be "significant."

"While they have made a choice with respect to one particular component of that effort, that does not reflect on the overall commitment or capacity to contribute significantly to the road ahead," Kerry said.

The Canadian government is expected to soon announce an end to Canada's bombing mission as part of the U.S.-led international coalition combating IS forces in Iraq and Syria.

"I am absolutely convinced that the prime minister (Justin Trudeau) and his security team are working on ways to continue their significant contribution," he said.

Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has signaled that Canada's contribution could include increasing the number of special forces currently helping to train Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq and assisting the coalition with intelligence.

As part of their discussion, Kerry, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion and Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu agreed to collaborate with the World Health Organization to deal with the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which had infected four Canadians as of Friday.

They also agreed to share information about what each country is doing to combat climate change with their respective leaders before the next so-called Three Amigos summit between Trudeau, U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto that will be held in Canada this year.

Dion said Canada was scheduled to host that meeting last year, but former Prime Minister Stephen Harper canceled it because of tensions with the United States over the proposed cross-border Keystone XL pipeline that Obama eventually rejected, and with Mexico over Canada's visa requirement for Mexicans.

The Canadian-Mexican discord has been eliminated as Dion told reporters in Spanish on Friday that Mexicans would no longer need a visa to come to Canada. Endi