Canadian Prime Minister Will Visit Honduras
Honduras Weekly
Canadian Prime Minister Will Visit Honduras
7 August 2011
Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada plans to visit Honduras on August 12 to meet with President Porfirio Lobo. The trip, which is part of a tour to Latin America, which includes stops in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and lastly Honduras, will focus on developing economic and security ties and promoting democracy. According to a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Harper will says he hopes to make progress with Honduras on a free trade deal. “Our government has focused on expanding and enhancing market access to create jobs, economic growth and opportunities for Canadians. The Americas remain a key region of increasing economic prosperity and entrepreneurialism,” said Mr. Harper. “Over the next few days, we will continue to further strengthen our economic ties, collaborate on shared areas of security and highlight our many successes to date in this important region.”
The Canadian government has been involved in talks for the past decade with governments in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua to establish free trade zones between the countries. In 2002, Canada signed a free trade agreement with Costa Rica. It has similar agreements with Chile, Panama, and Peru.
Canada already has significant business interests in Honduras, particularly in the mining industry. One of the main Canadian mining companies in Honduras is Goldcorp, Inc., which has been at the center of significant controversy for many years involving the depletion of water resources and alleged poisoning of streams and rivers with arsenic, cyanide, and mercury. The company has also been the target of numerous health and environmental by communities near its open-pit mining operations in areas such as the Siria Valley. One of the central complaints is that the company has been unresponsive.
