US State Secy Blinken meets Canadian FM Joly ahead of North American Leaders’ Summit

On Friday, November 12, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Canada's new Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in Washington to address a wide range of subjects, including Afghanistan. The forthcoming North American Leaders' Summit (NALS) was discussed by both leaders and they also emphasised the significance of the US-Canada partnership. "I had an excellent meeting today with @SecBlinken, ahead of @JustinTrudeau’s meeting with @POTUS. We will be working closely together on shared priorities, including climate change, our integrated supply chains, Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific, Haiti, and democracy [sic]," Joly wrote on Twitter.  

"Blinken noted his appreciation for our close collaboration as we continue to implement the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership, including opportunities to reinforce the importance of democracy, anti-corruption, and human rights at the Summit for Democracy," US State Department said in a statement as reported by news agency ANI. According to a statement released by the White House, US President Joe Biden will host Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on November 18 for the first North American Leaders' Summit since 2016. It has been nearly five years since the Presidents of the three countries met for a trilateral summit, and no official summits were held during the tenure of former US President Donald Trump. 

The US to host Canada, Mexico for North American Leaders' Summit

The trilateral summit between the United States, Mexico, and Canada comes after Washington began easing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated citizens from both countries and relaxed the bans that had been in place for more than 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States had restricted non-essential travel on the ground along its borders with Canada and Mexico since the Coronavirus outbreak. It's worth noting that even though Trump's administration saw no meetings between US, Mexican and Canadian leaders, they did reach an agreement to revise the Clinton-era North American Free Trade Agreement, according to a report by CNN. 

The United States and Canada are also expected to discuss the future of an oil pipeline that runs through part of the Great Lakes and has sparked debate about whether it should be shut down. President Joe Biden is embroiled in a conflict over Enbridge Energy's Line 5, a critical section of a pipeline network transporting Canadian oil into the US Midwest. Last month, Canada invoked a 1977 pact that ensures the free flow of oil between the two countries, reported The Associated Press (AP). It should be mentioned here that Line 5 transports around 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids used in propane between Wisconsin, Superior, and Sarnia, Ontario. Before reaching the Straits of Mackinac, it runs underground through northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

(With ANI inputs)

Image: Twitter/@Melanie Joly