MONTREAL: Canada's Defense Minister Peter MacKay and Governor General David Johnston traveled to Italy and Afghanistan to spend Christmas with Canadian troops, authorities said Monday.
MacKay and Johnston headed to Rome with General Walt Natynczyk, chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces, to pay a visit to sailors on the frigate Vancouver, which took part in NATO operations off Libya's coast.
Johnston, who represents Queen Elizabeth II in Canada, then attended the funeral of former Czech president Vaclav Havel in Prague, before heading to Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other officials.
MacKay paid a visit to the Canadian Intermediate Staging Terminal in Kuwait, where 160 Canadian troops are based, before heading to Afghanistan.
The pair met with Canadian troops training Afghan security forces, their offices said.
Canada's longest-running combat mission officially ended in July with handover of security duties in Kandahar province to US and Afghan troops. Canadian forces are now training the Afghan army and police in and near Kabul.
"Canadian forces members have worked tirelessly, at home and abroad, to save lives, provide security, and promote peace," MacKay said.
"It has been a busy, challenging year. As we celebrate the holidays, we should also take time to think of those who are still deployed throughout the world."
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