Prime Minister Mark Carney will clock about 36,000 kilometres over the next 10 days as he takes part in a series of European and Asian summits, and doubles back across two oceans to avoid crossing Russian airspace.
A meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is perhaps the most consequential item on his agenda. Shenzhen, China, is the last stop on his agenda for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting.
"We will discuss many things," Carney said in Montreal on Tuesday, listing the "security situation around the world" as well as the two countries' economic partnership — "something that is deepening but has clear guardrails."
Carney also said that Canada would finally replace its ambassador to China. The post has been unfilled for six months, but Carney said the person has been selected and they're in the process of agreeing with China on the appointment, which is a standard diplomatic process.
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"It's a little longer than we would have liked" since the post was filled, he said. "We would hope to make the announcement in very short order."
Carney's first destination is Dublin, Ireland, where the European Political Community is holding its ninth summit on Thursday. The EPC is a venue where EU members can meet with non-members such as the U.K., Turkey, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Since 2022, Ukraine has often been the main topic at EPC events, and that is expected to be the case in Dublin too, with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in attendance.
Ireland has suffered a wave of bomb threats and cyberattacks in recent days that the government of Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said have a "Russian dimension." Several flights on national carrier Aer Lingus and Irish discount airline Ryanair were delayed or diverted as a result of threats. In Dublin, office buildings, including national broadcaster RTÉ, had to be evacuated.
Carney is joining the summit as the only non-European invitee. It will be his second EPC summit, after attending one in Yerevan, Armenia, in May. It follows hard on the heels of a Canada-EU summit in Montreal, and fits neatly into the Carney agenda of greater integration with Europe.
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As summits go, the EPC is considered fairly informal. There is no joint communiqué or statement to be negotiated, and a space called the leaders' lounge is set up to facilitate spontaneous bilateral discussions.
The security around the event is less likely to be relaxed, however.
Last year's summit in Copenhagen was preceded by incursions of large drones, forcing the closure of the city's airport.
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Europe has experienced a significant escalation in drone overflights and cyberattacks since then.
Talk of building a European "drone wall" to resist such incursions is ongoing and likely to be a major topic in Dublin.
From Dublin, Carney will travel to Manila for the 49th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The shortest way to reach the Philippines from Ireland is to fly east, but that route would take the PM's plane thousands of kilometres across Russia. So instead, Carney will cross back over the Atlantic, refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, and then cross the Pacific.
Canada is currently negotiating a free trade agreement…
