Honourable senators, I want to take a few moments today to share with you a few things that I noticed during our mission to observe the general election that took place in Kazakhstan on November 20, 2022.

At the invitation of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Canada, Akylbek Kamaldinov, Senator Oh and I were part of a group of foreign observers who were able to witness the country’s electoral process and assess and comment publicly on it. I’m sure it was just as rewarding of an experience for them as it was for us.

During that visit, I was able to see just to what extent Canada serves as an example to this country, which set up a democratic electoral system, a parliament and public institutions that are very similar to the ones we have here in Canada. After becoming independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Republic of Kazakhstan was quickly recognized by Canada.

The very next year, in 1992, our Progressive Conservative prime minister at the time, Brian Mulroney, established diplomatic relations with this very promising new country. Today, 30 years later, we can certainly say that he was right and that the Republic of Kazakhstan is a partner of choice for Canada and for many of our major businesses.

At the time of our mission, an economic forum was being held in the capital, Astana. This event, which Canadian ambassador Stéphane Dion attended, enabled me to see first-hand the importance of the Canadian trade relations that now exist with businesses in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Let’s talk about aeronautics first. At that forum I met representatives of Bombardier, from Quebec, and De Havilland, from Alberta. These two companies supply aircraft to Qazaq Air.

An exporter of oil and natural gas, Kazakhstan has also become a major global supplier of uranium. The local uranium mine in Kazakhstan is operated by a company called Inkai. That company is 40% owned by Cameco, a large Canadian mining company from Saskatoon. This company alone produces 18% of the world’s uranium. I had the pleasure of meeting the president and CEO of Cameco, Tim Gitzel, and talking to him about the importance of uranium in the energy transformation taking place around the world.

Kazakhstan, like Canada, has vast agricultural lands. Agriculture employs 20% of the country’s workers and is therefore an economic sector where other Canadian manufacturers have found buyers for products made in Canada.

The Republic of Kazakhstan and Canada have something else that is very important in common: hockey. Astana has a team in the Kontinental Hockey League. After watching a game, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the players, including two Canadians from Saskatchewan. They were singularly proud to wear the Astana Barys uniform.

By the way, in Kazakhstan, hockey is not played in second-rate facilities. The arena where this team plays would certainly make some teams in our National Hockey League green with envy.

In closing, I want to add this: The modern urban facilities that I saw in this very young country are impressive. In my opinion, its new capital, Astana, is a true reflection of the ambitions of this country, which is landlocked between China and Russia. The leadership and the people of Kazakhstan have accomplished so much since 1991. I am especially grateful for the invitation from Ambassador Kamaldinov, which made it possible for me to see all this in person.

Thank you.