Secretary of State Mark Garneau and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday that they will work together on many of the hotspot issues.

The two men agreed to work closely and coordinate their efforts towards the safe and sustainable reopening of the border between Canada and the United States.

During their meeting, they also mentioned the desire to work together to support the Haitian people in developing a more stable, democratic and prosperous future.

Minister Garneau said he was concerned about the current level of insecurity in Haiti and reiterated Canada’s commitment to the Caribbean nation. He stressed the importance of promoting peace and encouraging Haiti to develop a plan for democratic renewal, especially with elections to be held by the end of the year.

Another file: Michael’s release

Minister Garneau and Minister Blinken reiterated their intention to secure the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been arbitrarily detained in China since December 2018.

The latter, a Canadian citizen, was imprisoned in December 2018, a few days after the arrest in Vancouver of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei.