Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen will arrive in Israel on Sunday 18 Shevat 5774 for an official four-day visit. The Canadian Prime Minister will be accompanied by ministers, MPs and business people. This will be his first visit to Israel and the first by a serving Canadian Prime Minister since 2000.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara will welcome Prime Minister and Laureen Harper in an official ceremony afternoon at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. The Netanyahus will later host the Harpers for dinner at their official residence in Jerusalem.

On Monday, 19 Shevat, Prime Minister Harper will be the first Canadian Prime Minister to address the Knesset.

On Tuesday morning the visiting state leaders will meet with President Shimon Peres and attend a joint meeting of the Israeli and Canadian governments at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. Prime Minister and Sara Netanyahu will, afterwards, accompany the Harpers to Yad Vashem. An official dinner for Prime Minister Harper, his wife and accompanying delegation will be held Tuesday evening in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a great friend of the State of Israel. He has strongly opposed against attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and has taken a praiseworthy moral stand against these attempts. I welcome his arrival together with his wife and the members of his delegation. We will work together to further enhance the important relations between our two countries.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)