Canadian defense minister Peter MacKay spoke Wednesday evening at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) on the need for a closer U.S.-Canadian partnership in an age of economic and political instability.

According to the Hamilton Spectator, MacKay cited the events of the Arab Spring as one example of the “wide-ranging security requirements” that NATO members face even as military budgets in those nations decline.

That reality, MacKay said, makes closer ties even more important.

“Partners bring different assets, capabilities and relationships to the game,” he said.

In addition to his speech, MacKay, who was at Stanford at the invitation of former Secretary of State and current Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Condoleezza Rice, participated in a roundtable discussion with the Institution’s fellows and also spoke to business leaders in Silicon Valley.

“Today’s discussions offered a rare opportunity to share … what Canada views as important on the international stage,” MacKay said, according to a press release from the Canadian Department of National Defence. “It was a true privilege to open a dialogue with people whose work makes a tangible impact on the world today, and whose ideas will play a role in shaping the world of tomorrow.”

-Neel Thakkar