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REGISTRATION FULL: Meet with Canada’s Ambassadors to Mexico, Chile and Peru, and Canada’s Senior Trade Commissioner to Colombia: The Pacific Alliance
Registration for this event is now full. Please contact events@bccie.bc.ca to be placed on a waitlist.
Please join us for this important and timely opportunity to hear from Canada’s Ambassadors and Senior Trade Commissioner from member countries of the Pacific Alliance: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
In collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, BCCIE is delighted to welcome to this roundtable the following Ambassadors of Canada and Senior Trade Commissioner from Pacific Alliance member countries:
- Pierre Alarie, Ambassador of Canada to Mexico
- Marcel Lebleu, Ambassador of Canada to Chile
- Gwyneth A. Kutz, Ambassador of Canada to Peru and Bolivia
- Brenda Wills, Senior Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Canada to Colombia
Full Biographies here.
Registration deadline: April 20, 2017
Background
Created in 2011, the Pacific Alliance is a regional integrative initiative including Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The Alliance seeks the free movement of goods, services, capital and people while promoting economic growth for member countries, with an aim to expand relations within the greater Asia-Pacific Region.
Pacific Alliance countries have a combined population of 225 million, over 1/3 of Latin America’s population and in 2014, they accounted for over 58% of Latin America’s total trade and 36% of the region’s GDP. Canada’s total merchandise trade with the Pacific Alliance reached US$46.2 billion in 2015. The four countries account for more than 70% of Canada’s two-way trade with the whole Latin American region. Canada also has comprehensive free trade agreements with each of the four Pacific Alliance countries and last year became the first non-Latin American observer country to sign a Joint Declaration on Partnership including an increased commitment towards education and training.
International students from Pacific Alliance countries, 4,320, now make up the 7th largest source of international students studying in BC. This is an increase of 39% between 2010 and 2015 with some of the largest increases coming out of Colombia and Peru.
Of additional interest to our sector is an emerging dialogue amongst key sectors in BC, including the International Education sector, where our province is uniquely positioned to act as a nexus, strategically linking Asia and Latin America. ExpoPlaza Latina and the Canadian International Council recently explored how Canada and in particular BC, has an immediate window of opportunity to act as an international hub between Asia and Latin America, in a context of a global reshaping of economies and new avenues of partnership and collaboration.
Takeaways from the presentation and roundtable will include:
- International Education market updates from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru from Canadian Ambassadors and Senior Trade Commissioner
- Sharing of trends and developments of the Pacific Alliance region
- Exploration of how Canada and BC can be positioned as an international nexus linking Latin America and Asia
- Opportunity for dialogue and discussion related to BC and Pacific Alliance countries
- Opportunity to network with our provincial and federal colleagues in International Education
Open to all BC public and independent K-12 schools, and public and private EQA-designated post-secondary institutions and language schools.