Trudeau has been keeping busy calling world leaders in his pursuit of a seat on the UN Security Council while Canada suffers from the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the National Post, Trudeau has found the time to speak to 28 different world leaders since the coronavirus pandemic began in March.
Among those Trudeau has courted for their support over the last few months are the leaders of Fiji, Colombia, Ghana, Sudan, Qatar, Sweden, Senegal, Rwanda and many others.
“We absolutely want a seat on the UN security council. It is also important that we spend time on the rebuild and the world that we want post-COVID. We need to keep an eye on the future that we want and how we want to shape it,” said Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
“The UN security council is the big table. This is where the most consequential decisions are taken with respect to peace and security around the world. It is the first time in generations the world has been on pause, and I think, before we push play, Canadians want us to play a role on the international scene.”
Trudeau’s staff told the National Post that the calls were mainly regarding the international effort against the coronavirus, however, the UN seat did come up from time to time.
Trudeau has been seeking to secure one of two seats on the council currently up for grabs for some time.
Prior to the pandemic, Trudeau toured throughout Africa in order to garner support from other world leaders.
Trudeau was able to court Senegal’s vote after meeting with President Macky Sall despite the country’s abhorrent human rights record.
While Trudeau was in Senegal, Sall came to the defence of his government’s criminalization of homosexuality, claiming that it was not homophobic.
“The laws of our country obey rules that are the condensation of our cultural and civilizing values. This has nothing to do with homophobia. Whoever has the sexual orientation of their choice is not the target of exclusion,” said Sall.
Shortly after the trip, Trudeau was caught on camera bowing to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif even though Iran admitted to shooting down an airliner and killing 57 Canadians prior to the meeting.
“I went by to impress upon the foreign minister of Iran how important it is that we work together,” said Trudeau about the incident.
