Former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper has described a keynote address by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia at the International Democrat Union conference in Washington DC as excellent while praising the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for their “tremendous” work in support of freedom and democracy locally and internationally.

Stephen Harper, who served as Prime Minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015, made this known in a tweet after Vice President Bawumia’s keynote address at the IDU Conference recently.

"My congratulations to the VP of Ghana, H.E., Dr. @MBawumia for his excellent keynote address at IDU Forum 2022 in Washington, D.C. I commend the @NPP_GH party for their tremendous work to support freedom and democracy, both at home and across the African continent. #IDUDC,” he tweeted.

In his keynote address at the IDU Conference, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, among others, expatiated on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukrainian crises on trade.

He noted that while these issues have brought about disruptions in global trade and instigated the adoption of some inward-looking policies by some countries, they have also presented an opportunity for enhanced collaborations on trade diversification.

The IDU is made up of center-right conservative political parties around. The union offers these parties opportunities for networking and collaboration. It was formed in 1983.