Bilateral and Multilateral Co-operation

Canada is a member of various international organisations such as the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Arctic Council, NATO, the G8, G20, the Francophonie and the Commonwealth.

Evidence of Canada’s proactive membership in these organisations is its contribution to the NATO force (the International Security Assistance Force or ISAF) in Afghanistan. This support amounted to around 1,000 combat personnel in 2011, and a significant contribution to reconstruction in Kandahar.

CIDA, the Canadian International Development Agency, leads the country’s development assistance. It concentrates its bilateral aid onto 20 countries of focus, including Colombia, Bangladesh, Ukraine and Sudan. Notably, CIDA has assisted Ghana in acheiving the first Millennium Development Goal.