The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) has decided to open a country office in Canada in 2019 with its headquarters in Ottawa. With this decision, the Foundation takes into account the fact that the importance of the close partnership between Canada and Germany as well as Canada and the European Union has been increasing for years.

Germany and Canada share the same values and interests at an international level in the areas of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, conflict resolution, security, the environment and climate change. Germany and Canada are strongly committed to maintaining and developing a rules-based international system.

Both countries are members of the G7, the G20 and NATO, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In addition, the EU and Germany (as permanent observers) also cooperate with Canada within the framework of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Arctic Council. In 2017, the EU and Canada concluded a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

In order to do justice to Canada's growing relevance, especially in the defense of multilateral, rule-based international approaches, the KAS project structure in North America will be strengthened by opening an independent office in Canada. Thereby the foundation aims to achieve, among other things:

• addressing German and EU decision-makers in the context of KAS measures in selected thematic fields of action to address challenges of a global nature, so that they are enabled to understand the analyses and approaches of both sides and to take this into account in their further actions;
• building trust and credibility on both sides, on the basis of which common values can then be built;
• preparing responses to challenges in key policy areas, using multilateral instruments.