Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly announced, on Saturday 30-11-2024, that Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Rob Oliphant will travel to Egypt to represent Canada at the Cairo conference on the humanitarian response in Gaza on December 2.
“Canada remains deeply concerned by the persistent and worsening catastrophic humanitarian conditions and the imminent risk of famine in Gaza, as well as the challenges faced by those seeking to provide help,” the ministry said in a statement.
“During the conference, Oliphant and representatives from the international community will discuss how to significantly scale up the safe, rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance into and throughout Gaza, as well as how to support early recovery and plan for long-term reconstruction,” the statement read.
“Oliphant will highlight that Canada has announced $50 million in funding for humanitarian assistance to address the acute needs of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. With this funding, Canada will have allocated, to date, a total of $215 million for international assistance to address the urgent needs of vulnerable civilians in this crisis. Canada relies on experienced and trusted partners, particularly the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, other UN agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Canadian NGOs, to deliver this funding,” it added.
“Global cooperation is essential to address the pressing needs of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and to ensure the effective delivery of much-needed assistance. I look forward to engaging with our partners on how we can also support the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, including by restoring essential services to improve the living conditions and resilience of the population,” Oliphant said.
