April 13, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that she will welcome Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to Ottawa from April 14 to 15, 2024. While in Ottawa, Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya will meet with government officials and engage with members of the Belarusian diaspora.

Minister Joly and Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya will meet to discuss the implications of ongoing violations of human rights committed by the Lukashenko regime, including violations on democracy, peace and security in Belarus and globally.

Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya will also meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss how Canada can continue applying economic and political pressure on the Lukashenko regime, which has close ties with the Russian Regime and continues to facilitate the Kremlin’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

This will be Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s second visit to Canada. During her last visit, in November 2022, Canada announced sanctions on the Lukashenko regime for facilitating and enabling Russia’s illegal invasion and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory.