Senegal's foreign minister has demanded "sincere and public apologies" from Prime Minister Stephen Harper after a top Senegalese official was bodysearched when he arrived at Toronto's main airport earlier in the week.
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said both he and other Canadian officials have offered their "regrets" for the incident at Pearson International Airport.
MacKay also said he planned to apologize in person to the official involved, Abdou Diouf, who is the Secretary-General of la Francophonie and Senegal's former president, the Globe and Mail reported.
Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio said on Saturday that he wants a formal apology.
Gadio said the incident was "extremely serious" for Senegal and showed disrespect for Diouf, who was stopped while en route to Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Gadio complained to reporters on the opening day of la Francophonie Summit in the Manitoba capital.
"We ask that the former president of Senegal be treated with deference and respect, and he was not treated that way," he said.
Security key issue at Francophonie conference
Dozens of foreign ministers from 53 French-speaking countries were attending the two-day conference, talking about peace, poverty and security.
On Sunday, the conference was expected to release a declaration and agenda for providing greater security and conflict prevention in member countries.
The declaration was expected to broaden the definition of threats to human security, making note of such things as landmines, child soldiers and violence against women.