Canada – Ottawa hosts meeting to promote Italy in Canada

The coordination meeting of the institutions to promote Italy in Canada took place in Ottawa, attended by the Consul Generals in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, the directors of the Italian Cultural Institutes, the representatives of the Ministry of Defence, ICE (the Italian Trade Agency), the Italian Chambers of Commerce, the Bank of Italy, ENIT (the national tourist bureau) and some of the major Italian businesses in Canada. David Lametti, the newly appointed Undersecretary of State for Innovation, Science and Economic Development, also attended the event. He expressed his conviction that this is the right time to further promote trade relations between Italy and Canada beyond the already consolidated areas, aiming for technological innovation to lay the foundation of a solid and long-lasting partnership. The aim of the meeting, coordinated by the Italian Embassy in Ottawa, was to agree on the 2017 promotional strategies for Italy’s presence in Canada. This year appears to be important for bilateral commercial relations, in light of the expected temporary enforcement of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada. Canada is one of the priority countries on the list of upcoming business missions led by politicians to the American continent. Several issues were discussed at the meeting, including the promotion of CETA, the agro food sector, infrastructure, the aerospace and defence sector, creative industry and scientific cooperation. In terms of trade, in 2016 Italy confirmed to be Canada’s eighth largest exporting countries, with a trade volume of 9 billion Canadian dollars and a 3 percent rise in exports in 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. The major drivers of Italian exports to Canadian markets were machinery and equipment, vehicles, agro food products and pharmaceuticals.