Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has arrived at the United Nations General Assembly on a mission to remind the world that there’s more to Canadian foreign policy than just Donald Trump and North American free trade.
Trudeau is beginning his day at the opening of the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit, where he’s scheduled to deliver brief remarks later this afternoon.
He also has a number of bilateral meetings scheduled to take place on the fringes of the assembly.
While Canada is keen to resume its efforts to secure a coveted seat on the UN Security Council, NAFTA — the government’s main foreign policy preoccupation for the last year — won’t be far from Trudeau’s mind.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is also at the UN this week, is expected to hold informal talks with U.S. trade ambassador Robert Lighthizer as the two sides continue to try to reach a trade agreement before a congressional deadline of Oct. 1.
Trudeau is also scheduled to attend a meeting of the UN’s economic and social council to talk about how to finance that group’s efforts to advance sustainable development by the year 2030, and attend a roundtable of leaders in girls’ education.
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The Canadian Press
