This announcement, made by Lorenzo Ysasi Martínez, the COMCE’s Director General and Director for North America, during the business luncheon “Mexico-Québec: A North American Alliance,” held in the Premier’s honour on June 27, came on the heels of a meeting in Mexico City between the COMCE, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and Québec International.
Mexico Days in Québec, which will bring Mexican and Québec business people to Montréal and Québec City, will be a forum for stimulating discussions and partnerships between businesses, which enjoy increased competitiveness by virtue of the North American Free Trade Agreement. It will be a second initiative of this sort for the COMCE, which held its initial Mexico Day in Ottawa in August 2011, bringing together some 160 businesses from Mexico and Canada (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDPXtRAuGoI).
“Although Europe is holding a great deal of our attention at the moment, we need to maintain and strengthen relations with Mexico,” says Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. “The number of Québec businesses that export to Mexico has almost quadrupled since 2000, and there exists real potential for growth, what with rapid economic development, a growing middle class and strategic investments in infrastructure and resources. We are delighted with the announcement of next year’s Mexico Days, which is in line with our strategy of strengthening ties with that country. We are also planning a trade mission for November to continue to create connections between business people.”
“We regularly receive requests for support for developing this market, which offers potential for growth and a springboard to Latin America,” says Carl Viel, President and CEO of Québec International. “So this initiative is fully in line with our marketing and export support team’s market diversification strategy. Promoting relations between Québec and Mexican businesses and banking on follow-through from this trade mission – including the partnership with the COMCE –, Mexico Days in Québec will allow us to better meet this need for diversification. The business potential, in particular in niche technologies such as optics/photonics, where the Québec City area excels, is particularly strong.
About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is made up of some 7,000 members. Its mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Québec's leading private economic development organization.
About the World Trade Centre Montréal
Through its team of experts at the World Trade Centre Montréal, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal provides international trade services to the greater business community, with the support of Canada Economic Development.
About Québec International
Québec International contributes to the economic development of the Québec City metropolitan area and enhances its international status. As a regional economic development agency, Québec International fosters business growth, supports key sectors and attracts talent and investment. www.quebecinternational.ca
