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Jen Black | Office of International Business Development | 717.720.7472 | [email protected] or visit www.medica.de

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​Linda Foerster | International Program Manager |  717.214.5306 | [email protected] or visit www.arabhealthonline.com

​​PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Philadelphia Commerce Department, the Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Office of the City Representative this week hosted Québec Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie Christine St-Pierre for the first “Québec Day in Philadelphia.”   Co-organized by the City of Philadelphia, the Québec Government and the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, the full-day event was designed to strengthen economic and political ties between the Province of Québec (Canada) and Pennsylvania, and particularly Philadelphia.

Immigration Roundtable
Québec Day in Philadelphia kicked off with a roundtable discussion on Pennsylvania and Québec’s experiences in working with community and economic development organizations to attract immigrants and promote their professional integration. With a view to share best practices, Minister St-Pierre and the Director of Immigrant Affairs Miriam Enriquez delivered opening remarks.  The President and CEO of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians Peter Gonzales moderated the ensuing discussion with panelists from the Office of Immigrant Affairs, City of Philadelphia, Nationalities Service Center, the City of Montreal and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.

“The Office of Immigrant affairs was honored to take part in the first ever Québec Day in Philadelphia, which saw a number of events take place around the city, all with the objective of strengthening commercial, cultural and educational relations between Québec and Pennsylvania,” said Miriam E. Enriquez, Director of Immigrant Affairs at the City of Philadelphia.  “At the morning immigration round table event, it was great to share experiences and learn from each other on how to successfully integrate immigrants into the economic, cultural and civic fabric of our cities.”

Pennsylvania-Québec Business Luncheon
A luncheon, co-organized by the Québec Government Office and the World Trade Center of Philadelphia, was held at the Union League of Philadelphia where both Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis M. Davin and Minister St-Pierre addressed the business community on opportunities to further expand the already strong trade ties between Pennsylvania and Québec and the economic benefits to both regions that would result.

“I want to thank the City of Philadelphia and the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia for helping to make the first Québec Day in Philadelphia such a success,” said Québec’s Delegate General Jean-Claude Lauzon.  “Our goal was to raise awareness of the ample opportunities for increased trade and partnerships. I think we have accomplished that today, but Québec will be back and will continue to be committed to making this relationship grow further.”

“The Department of Commerce was honored to work with the Québec Government Office to organize Québec Day in Philadelphia,” said Harold T. Epps, Commerce Director at the City of Philadelphia.  “Bilateral trade between Québec and PA totaled $3.7 billion in 2015.  We want to have Philadelphia play a central role in increasing that number. The various events that took place on Québec Day are all part of that effort.”

“Connecting companies with promising market opportunities to grow their business globally supports the mission of The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia,” said Linda Mysliwy Conlin, President of the World Trade Center of Philadelphia.  “We were pleased to work with the Québec Government and the City of Philadelphia in bringing together business and government leaders from both regions to identify and pursue best opportunities for increasing trade and investment.“

Minister St-Pierre later attended a special event at the Henry C. Lea Elementary School that highlighted the school’s French language program and partnership with the Québec Government Office in New York and a sister school in the City of Magog, Québec.

Flag Raising and Ceremony at City Hall
Québec Day in Philadelphia concluded with a flag raising ceremony and networking reception at City Hall. 

“It was a privilege for the Office of the City Representative to take part in the celebration of Québec Day in Philadelphia,” said Sheila M. Hess, City Representative at the City of Philadelphia.  “Québec Day highlighted the historic Québec-Philadelphia relationship, strengthened our bond as proud World Heritage Sites, and provided an invaluable opportunity for our City’s business, academic, and cultural representatives to explore the potential for new partnerships and exchanges with the Québec Delegation.”

Québec Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie Christine St-Pierre and PA Secretary of Community & Economic Development Dennis Davin promote bilateral trade
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Philadelphia, PA, USA - Today, June 21, the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) and the Québec Government Office in New York, will host a luncheon at the Union League featuring Québec Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie Christine St-Pierre and Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis Davin. Accompanied by a Québec trade delegation with representatives from the construction and green building sectors, Minister St-Pierre will join Secretary Davin to discuss opportunities to further expand the already strong trade ties between Pennsylvania and Québec and the economic benefits to both regions that would result.

​“We are delighted to partner with the Québec Government and the City of Philadelphia to celebrate and grow trade between Québec and the Greater Philadelphia Region,” said Linda Conlin, President of the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia. “This luncheon will give companies of all sizes a sense of how trade with Québec, across diverse growth sectors, could provide new revenue streams for their businesses. This event is a great example of how WTCGP provides businesses with educational and networking forums to accelerate their global business growth.”

​“Bilateral trade between Pennsylvania and Québec stands at $3.7 billion but there are more opportunities for increased cross-border trade in key sectors such as life sciences, construction and green building, transportation and aerospace,” said Delegate General Jean-Claude Lauzon. “Often the largest barrier to trade is the lack of awareness of the available opportunities. My hope is that Québec Day in Philadelphia will help remedy that and deepen mutually beneficial ties.”
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The luncheon is one of three events celebrating the occasion of the first “Québec Day in Philadelphia.” Co-organized by the City of Philadelphia, the Québec Government and WTCGP, the roster of events aims to strengthen economic and political ties between the two regions. Other events on the schedule for June 21 include an immigration roundtable discussion and a special gathering at the Henry C. Lea Elementary School, which will highlight the school’s French language program and partnership with the Quebec Government. To cap off Québec Day in Philadelphia, a flag raising and evening reception will be held at City Hall.

Québec-Pennsylvania Trade
With bilateral trade between Pennsylvania and Québec at $3.7 billion in 2015, Pennsylvania is Québec’s 4th largest trading partner in the United States. Top Québec exports to Pennsylvania include aluminum, chocolate and chemical wood pulp, and Pennsylvania exports mostly cocoa paste, oil and paperboard products to the province. Québec companies with a strong presence in Pennsylvania include Bombardier, SNC Lavalin, Saputo, Aldo, Group CGI, Leclerc, Alimentations Couche-Tard (Circle K),  Cascades and Domtar, while Alcoa, Ametek and Hershey are some Pennsylvania corporations with significant operations in Québec.
   
About the Québec Government Office in New York
Founded in 1940, the Québec Government Office in New York is Québec’s oldest foreign office. Serving the Mid-Atlantic region, it promotes the interests of Québec in in the areas of trade, investment, research and innovation, education and culture.
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About the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia
The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP), a non-profit and membership - based organization, accelerates global business growth for companies in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey by providing customized, one-on-one trade counseling, market research, educational programs, trade mission support, business networking events, and powerful connections to customers and partners worldwide, including 325 world trade centers in 92 countries. Since 2002, the WTCGP has served as a catalyst for regional economic growth and job creation, helping area companies generate over $1.5B in incremental export sales, supporting over 19,000 jobs in the region.

​BEIJING, China - On Monday, June 6, 2016, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) signed two grants to further strengthen U.S.-China aviation cooperation. The first signing launched the 12th phase of the U.S.-China Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP). USTDA funding will continue to support the successful Executive Management Development Training and Air Traffic Management Executive Training programs. These programs have strengthened the skills of over 1,300 Chinese aviation leaders and deepened the relationships between U.S. and Chinese aviation professionals.
 
USTDA also concluded an agreement to support China's efforts to modernize winter operations at Chinese airports. Currently, the lack of snow and ice removal procedures and equipment in China has contributed to significant air traffic delays in the country's rapidly growing market. The technical assistance will use Harbin International Airport in northeast China as a case study to share U.S. technologies and best practices as China develops a winter operations plan for airports across the country.
 
"USTDA is pleased to continue connecting U.S. businesses to China's expanding aviation market," said USTDA Director Leocadia I. Zak. "Our partnership under the ACP has allowed us to make substantial mutually-beneficial progress and we look forward to continue building upon that progress."
 
USTDA Director Zak and CAAC Deputy Administrator Wang Zhiqing signed the grant agreements Sunday at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China. Geoff Jackson from the U.S.-China Aviation Partnership and Christopher Collins from the Federal Aviation Administration witnessed the signing.
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Philadelphia, PA, USA - On June 2, 2016, the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) hosted a breakfast meeting at the Philadelphia law offices of White & Williams LLC (a WTCGP Leadership Council Member) for a delegation of numerous officials from Tianjin, China. ​

Tianjin and the Binhai New Area
Located in northern coastal China, Tianjin has a total population of more than 15 million people, making the municipality the fourth largest in China. Tianjin is fast becoming a hub city for international shipping and logistics, manufacturing and research and development. Created in 2009, Tianjin Binhai New Area is located in northeast China, in the coastal region of the Tianjin municipality and has been designated by the Chinese government as a special development zone. The area includes a Free Trade Zone, an international seaport, and an international airport. It is a 30 minute high-speed train ride from Beijing. There are 141 Global 500 companies with operations in Binhai New Area. Major sectors are: aerospace, petroleum chemical, electronic information, automobile, biological medicine, new energy, grain and oil textile, and finance.