 | Today Alberta Premier Alison Redford and His Highness the Aga Khan signed an Agreement of Cooperation to expand collaboration in the areas of health sciences, education, the environment, forestry and natural resources management, culture, and private sector and economic development. | |
Edmonton - October 24, 2012 - Today Alberta Premier Alison Redford and His Highness the Aga Khan signed an Agreement of Cooperation to expand collaboration in the areas of health sciences, education, the environment, forestry and natural resources management, culture, and private sector and economic development. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Alberta and the Ismaili Imamat.
His Highness the Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). AKDN is an international network of nine development agencies with mandates that include the environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalization of historic cities.
“Alberta is seen as a world leader in health, environmental management and energy development on the international stage and partnerships like these give us yet another opportunity to share that expertise with the world,” said Premier Redford. “The Government of Alberta and the Imamat share a commitment to ensuring that the impoverished in our communities have access to the supports they need. This agreement allows us to build relationships beyond our borders in order to combat the problem of poverty not only here at home but across the globe.”
The agreement, which was signed at Government House, notes that the Province and the Imamat share a commitment to confronting persistent, varied and large scale material poverty, recognizing it as one of the great challenges facing the global community. It further stipulates that Alberta and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) will collaborate and learn from each other in fields of mutual interest, so as to further their common goal of equitable human advancement and social justice, based on the principles of mutual benefit and reciprocity.
Calling this a day of magnificent opportunity, His Highness remarked ‘I hope that we will be able to create new opportunities for Canadian Institutions that need global knowledge to work with us to strengthen their ability to perform at home and internationally.’
The Ismaili Imamat and the AKDN have agreements and memoranda of understanding with over 20 states and nations around the world, including the states of California, Texas and Illinois, as well as the East African Community, the Portuguese Republic, the Government of Tajikistan, the Republic of Mali and the Government of Germany. AKDN agencies conduct their programs without regard to faith, origin or gender.
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