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On March 28, 2003, Canada ratified the protocols of accession to NATO, in this way expressing its support for the admission of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Following ratification, the Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien announced that "Canada is pleased to be the first country to ratify these agreements as we have been among the strongest proponents for what will be the most robust enlargement in NATOâÀ™s history." Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its gratitude to Canada for such a rapid ratification of the NATO Accession Protocols, coming as it did just one day after NATO member states, among them Canada, signed the Accession Protocols of the seven invited countries at a ceremony in Brussels. Eighteen other NATO member states have yet to ratify the NATO Accession Protocols. Debate on ratification of the protocols has also begun in the United States, where on 25 March President George W. Bush presented an updated report on each of the invited countries to Congress. Similarly hearings have begun in the Senate in order to closely examine the readiness of each of the seven invited countries for membership of the Alliance. (end of text)
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