The Italian Ambassador to Canada, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, visited British Columbia to boost economic, commercial and cultural cooperation between Italy and the Canadian province, which is also a strategic hub from which to develop partnerships with Asia-Pacific Countries. On his visit to the provincial capital, Victoria, the Ambassador was accompanied by the Italian Consul General in Vancouver, Massimiliano Iacchini. The ambassador had meetings with senior officials of local institutions, including Premier Christy Clark and the Speaker of the provincial Legislative Assembly, Linda Reid. He also had talks with the ministers in charge of the various fields of bilateral cooperation: Culture Minister Peter Fassbender; Education Minister Mike Bernier; Energy Minister Bill Bennett; International Trade Minister Teresa Wat; and Coralee Oakes, the Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and responsible for liquor distribution. During the talks, Ambassador Cornado pointed out that Italian companies are greatly interested in participating in the Provincial Plan for the development of the natural gas industry (LNG).
Boosting economic, commercial and cultural cooperation between Italy and the Canadian province
So far, some 20 projects for the production and export of liquid natural gas to Asian markets have been presented in the province. In addition, focus was placed on the possible role of Italian companies and groups in the modernisation of power plants managed by the province-based company BC Hydro. The Ambassador underlined that trade and investments between Europe and Canada will be given further impulse by the imminent coming into force of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. For this purpose, a forum dedicated to the concrete benefits of this agreement is to be organised later this year in Vancouver. British Columbia is one of the most prosperous and dynamic provinces of Canada and an important target market for Italy: Italian exports grew 22 percent from 2012 to 2015 (from 397 million to 625 million dollars). With respect to the promotion of the Italian language and culture, Ambassador Cornado gave Education Minister Bernier a draft Memorandum of Understanding between the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) and the Education Ministry of British Columbia, with the aim of promoting exchanges between secondary schools in Italy and in the Canadian province.
