Lloyd Austin has thanked his counterpart Harjeet Singh Sajjan for his willingness to host 20,000 Afghan refugees
Defence Ministers Lloyd Austin and Harjit Singh Sajjan agreed in a telephone conversation on Saturday to maintain close cooperation on Afghanistan. The Pentagon press office said.
“Secretary Austin acknowledged Canada’s significant contribution to [resolving the situation] in Afghanistan and pledged to maintain close cooperation in the period ahead”, – the statement said. In addition, the US Defence Secretary thanked his counterpart for Canada’s willingness to accept 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan.
According to the Pentagon press service, the defense chiefs of the two countries also approved two joint statements: on consultations on strategic issues and on modernizing the U.S.-Canadian Joint Aerospace Defense Command in North America.
In turn, the State Department press office reports that U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke by phone with Canadian foreign policy chief Mark Garneau on Saturday. The two sides also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, including “diplomatic efforts to end violence” in the country.