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Visit of German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas to Toronto
Visit of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to Toronto, © German Consulate Toronto
Multilateralism, climate change and the defence of liberal democracies were some of the prominent topics during Heiko Maas’ short stay in Toronto this August. The German Foreign Minister visited the city as part of his North America trip, which also led him to the Canadian Arctic in Nunavut.
In Toronto, Maas was greeted by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, whom he met for a fireside talk, a panel discussion, a common press conference and, last but not least, a short bike tour between meetings. The delegation furthermore learned about the future of Artificial Intelligence at an event hosted by Vector Institute.
In his keynote speech at the Toronto Board of Trade’s Arcadian Loft, Maas stressed the importance of a multilateral approach towards global cooperation and honoured Canada and Minister Freeland as Germany’s distinguished friends and allies (or team mates, in Maas’s own words) in the soon-to-be-founded Alliance of Multilateralists. In a speech full of sports analogies, Maas started his introduction with a reference to Toronto’s Raptors team, referring to international relations as a sports game that requires players to play by the rules.
Climate change was the visit’s other big topic: In the Arctic towns of Iqaluit and Pond Inlet, where threatening consequences of anthropological climate change are inevitable, the Minister’s delegation learned from researchers and locals that severe action must be undertaken in the near future to preserve the Arctic and to counter the effects of climate change.