Friday, February 8, 2007

Ambassador Guillermo E. Rishchynski
Ambassador of Canada to Mexico
Formerly Ambassador to Brazil and Colombia

Date: Friday March 7th, 2008
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Location: Albany Club
91 King Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 1G3

Mr. Calin Ratis
International Trade Officer
Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce
T:416-595-5333 ext. 42
E: cratis@iecanada.com

International Mining Cafe

Odette Corbu, Trade Commissioner
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Ontario Region

You are cordially invited to the International Mining Café
At the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada International Convention – PDAC 2008

Organized by The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), this unique event will provide an opportunity to meet with DFAIT’s Trade Commissioners from around the world and other experts from government and the private sector. Businesses will be able to meet in one place at one time with the individuals who can assist them to access and expand their global mining reach.

This is a FREE event and you DO NOT have to be registered with PDAC 2008 to attend.

We have been contracted to coordinate all registrations for this event and to schedule individual meetings for you on the day. Should you require any additional information or clarification, please contact:

6th Latin American Leadership Forum - 'Building the Global Network for Sustained Competitiveness & Opportunity'

Save the date! April 1-3, 2008 in Miami, Florida (just prior to the Annual Meetings of the Inter-American Development Bank).

Strategic Projects - The 6° Annual Leadership Forum hosts the Top 50 strategic infrastructure projects in Latin America, across 10 sectors - electricity generation, water/wastewater, ports & logistics, mining, urban mass transit, tourism, highways, oil & gas, 'new' infrastructure and strategic projects (those that most transform the region's competitiveness). The theme - "Building the Global Network for Sustained Competitiveness & Opportunity" - focuses on bringing global resources - and a vision of where the world is going - to the design and financing of the next generation of projects. 50 Project Presentations, each of 10-12 minutes, over two days!

CEO Forum - A new and innovative feature of the 6° Leadership Forum is the participation of 10 key infrastructure decision-makers from around the globe, including 5 CEO's and an equal number of heads of state. Presentations will be both live and interactive, and pre-taped, focusing on why Latin America needs to quadruple its investment in infrastructure, how that is going to happen, and who is going to benefit - over 30 years!

Private Meetings - Private Meetings will go live on January 31, 2008. Each registrant in the Forum has the right to schedule up to 15 private meetings, each of 15 minutes in length, with project presenters, sponsors, and participating CEO's. This evolving model has proven highly successful. As one participant in our recent Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum said "this works great, I make my numbers every year at your meetings - and since you started our revenues have grown 20 times!"

"Deep Dives" - Increasingly the Leadership Forum provides context for private sector participants, and a strong feedback loop for the public sector, through workshops, roundtables and breakfasts, all organized by sponsors and focused on specific topics. Last year's successful workshops included a World Economic Forum event on infrastructure financing; for this year the 'deep dives' will focus on Brazil, South American and IIRSA, "What is Really Going on in the Region's Infrastructure - Winning and Losing Sectors, Countries and Regions," and "Making the DR/Cafta Competitive."

World Class Sponsors - Key sponsors for the 6° Annual Latin American Leadership Forum include the following: Platinum - Banco Centro-Americano de Integración Regional, CEI-RD Gold -- Banco do Brasil, CitiBank, Export Development Canada; MIGA - World Bank Group, and Panalpina.

CG/LA Infrastructure LLC
1730 Rhode Island Ave., NW
Suite 707
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 776-0990
Fax: (202) 776-0994
Email: nfa@cg-la.com

Av. Paulista, 2, 202 Cj 61
Sao Paulo, S.P. 01310 300, Brazil
Tel: 55 11 3285-2055
Fax: 55 11 3285-2967

The International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal has as its principal mission the promotion of wide-ranging and completely open discussion of the major international economic issues. It also aims at facilitating the creation of contacts between representatives of businesses, governments and international agencies as well as members of the academic world and civic society, thereby encouraging international exchanges.

Minister Emerson met with Mercedes Aráoz Fernandez, Peruvian Minister of International Trade and Tourism, on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to mark the conclusion of free trade negotiations with Peru which began in July, 2007.

"Peru has emerged as one of the most dynamic economies in the Americas, supported by an aggressive commerce agenda and clear stance in favour of trade liberalization," said Minister Emerson. "This FTA with Peru will further solidify our trade and investment relationship and open up opportunities for Canadian business in a range of sectors, including agriculture, natural resources and services."

Peru will provide greater market access for a range of Canadian agricultural products, as well as paper products and machinery and equipment. Agreement has also been reached with respect to cross-border trade in services in sectors of interest to Canada including mining, energy and professional services.

Through this FTA, greater stability, transparency and protection for Canadian investments in Peru has been achieved, building on the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement signed by the two countries in 2006.

"Peru is a growing destination for Canadian investment," added Minister Emerson. "This FTA will create a more receptive environment for Canadian investors while increasing the prosperity of Peruvians."

Provisions with respect to environmental protection, biodiversity and corporate social responsibility are included in an environment agreement. For the first time in Canadian FTA negotiations, agreement has also been reached on the establishment of a Trade Related Cooperation Committee to oversee trade-related capacity building activities associated with the FTA.

A Labour Cooperation Agreement, which includes enforcement obligations and associated penalties, has also been negotiated.

"I have seen first-hand, how Peru is committed to improving labour conditions in their country," said Minister Blackburn. "This is the most comprehensive labour cooperation agreement ever negotiated by Canada."

In 2006, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Peru totalled CDN$2.4 billion. Canada is also one of Peru's most important sources of foreign direct investment in the mining sector, and among the largest overall foreign investors with an estimated CDN$2.9 billion of investment stock as of 2006. In 2004, Canadian commercial services exports to Peru totalled approximately CDN$46 million.

Comprehensive consultations were undertaken with Canadians which indicated broad support for an FTA with Peru. In order for this treaty to be implemented, a full legal review of the texts will be required before signature and before proceeding with legislative processes in each country.

The conclusion of this FTA with Peru builds on Prime Minister Harper's commitment to reviving and expanding Canadian political and economic engagement in the Americas, which is a major foreign policy goal of the Government of Canada.

This Agreement with Peru also builds on the success of Canada's existing FTAs with the U.S. and Mexico (NAFTA), with Chile, with Israel and with Costa Rica. Together, these countries represent a market of 459 million consumers, with a combined GDP of CDN$16.4 trillion. Two-way trade with these countries totalled CDN$604 billion in 2006, which represents 72% of Canada's foreign trade.

IDB Fund will Finance a Venture Capital Fund for High-Growth Companies in Argentina
(IDB News )

A five-million-dollar equity investment and a 100,000-thousand-dollars technical co-operation grant will fund promotion of venture capital industry development in Argentina, announced Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund.

According to the IDB website, "The Fund will provide equity financing to 5 to 12 small enterprises with up to 100 employees and annual sales up to US$ 5 million," in sectors including information technology services, biotechnology, tourism, and metal mechanics.

Over 1,500 Mexican workers and farmers gathered outside the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday to reject NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and a likely privatization of oil and electricity.

The demonstrators, convened by unions and farm organizations, gathered near the main entrance of the Congress carrying posters listing their demands.

Representatives of unions of electricity, telephone, oil, streetcar, nuclear energy, university teachers and gas demanded re-negotiation of NAFTA and a reform of energy, judicial and labor regulations so that the country is not opened to foreign transnational companies.

Such a process would mean loss of sovereignty and implementation of neo-liberal policies, they declared.

New demonstrations against a proposed judicial reform have been scheduled for February 19, as well as others for March, April and May, all supported by the farm sector to challenge announced privatizations.

Latin American Logistics Center Created
(Prensa Latina)

A Colombia-based logistics company has an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create the Center for Latin-American Logistics Innovation.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Transportation and Logistics and LOGyCA, the Colombia logistics company, signed a $19 million agreement to create the research and education center for supply chain and logistics in Latin America.

Officials said CLLI will join MIT and the Zaragoza Logistics Center in Spain as the third member of MIT's growing international network of centers dedicated to supply chain education and research that now spans the United States, Europe and Latin America.

LOGyCA will house the new center in its Bogota headquarters, providing researchers and students access to the infrastructure and knowledge base that helped Colombia establish the largest collaborative technology platform in Latin America.

The partnership is based on a 10-year agreement, which begins March 1. The $19-million deal includes a $4 million gift from LOGyCA to the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics .

Volkswagen plans to invest 1 billion dollars in its plant in Mexico until 2010, the German firm said Friday during celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the construction of the New Beetle.

In the presence of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn said at the plant in Puebla - some 120 kilometres east of the Mexican capital - that the investment will go towards the production of the Bora/Jetta model, and towards the optimization of the plant's capacity.

Calderon stressed the importance that the Volkswagen plant in Puebla has for the Mexican economy as a whole.…

IDB Approves US$1.5 Million Grant for Sustainable Energy and Biofuel Strategies in Colombia
(IDB News)

A 1.5-million-dollars grant has been approved by Inter-American Development Bank for Colombia's sustainable energy and biofuels projects.

The grant is meant to provide the Colombian government with information and framework in investing "in sustainable energy and biofuels projects, plans and programs, through a set of tools, studies and institutional strengthening," according to the official site.

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Disclaimer – CCA Update is provided as an information service to our members and key contacts. It is designed to provide the most up-to-date trade information from a variety of sources. The information we feature does not necessarily reflect the Council’s opinion on a given international trade issue. Although we endeavour to disclose accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. The Canadian Council for the Americas cannot assume any responsibility for actions taken solely or principally on the basis of information provided.