Friday, January 25, 2007

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

Canada Mexico and US "does not consider it appropriate to reopen NAFTA"
(El Mexicano)

Secretary of Agriculture of Canada Gerry Ritz says Canada, Mexico and the US are not going to be reopening the Free Trade Agreement of North America because they are "pleased with the way in which it is working."

According to Ritz, the three former NAFTA partners may not realize it is better to reopen the agreement that they have shared since 1994 up until most recently.

International scientists recognized Wednesday the effectiveness of Cuban medicine used to fight the B zero-group's meningococcal disease, according to spokespeople from the island's health system.

Over 51 million doses of Va-Mengoc-BC have been applied in dozens of countries after its appearance 20 years ago, thanks to research by this country's experts.

Finlay Institute director Concepcion Campa stated that the medicine continues as the only one of this kind in the world used to counteract the effects of all forms of cerebrospinal meningitis.

Such illness has high mortality and evolution through outbreaks, the expert said.

Campa stressed the advantages of this product in a lecture at the "Calixto Garcia" General University Hospital , which is holding a scientific event on occasion of its 122nd anniversary.

Campa said that the first absorbable human anti-leptospirosis vaccine, produced through collaboration between her institute and the "Pedro Kouri" Tropical Medicine Institute, induces immunity with larger continued effects.

Mexico Studies Climate Change Potential
(Prensa Latina)

The Mexican Hydraulics Association analyzed on Thursday the negative effects of climate change and its potential impact on the water resources of this country.

Experts of HMA, founded 40 years ago, pointed out the need of seek alternatives to mitigate the consequences of the global phenomenon for the Mexican economy.

We need to unite efforts to find a way to stabilize discharges into the atmosphere that cause global warming without restraining development.

The transformation undergone through years is evident, they indicated, and in Mexico there are areas with shortages of water, while others suffer severe floods.

The adoption of rapid measures for the equitable distribution of water will bring benefits and fully exceed the economic costs of not acting before a climatic event, the HMA declared.

Most important, the experts said, is to inform and to publish results of research on climate change and the use of hydro resources in a sustainable way.

Representatives of the National Polytechnic Institute informed that this year global warming will cause a much longer and unusual cold winter.

Peruvian President Alan Garcia on Sunday arrived in Spain for a three-day visit aimed at enhancing economic and diplomatic relations with the European country.

Garcia is scheduled to meet with Spain's King Juan Carlos, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and business leaders.

The president said recently that Spanish-Argentine oil giant Repsol YPF SA had found 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Peru, which is enough to ensure the country's gas supply for 40 years.

Garcia is also likely to seek Spain's support in the country's maritime territory dispute with its southern neighbor Chile.

Chile and Norway Tuesday signed a pact to extend an existing fishing research and cooperation agreement to cover the fight against illegal fishing, technological training, internships for public sector experts and sharing experience on sustainable development.

Jorge Chocair, Chile's vice minister of fishing, met Norwegian counterpart Vidar Ulriksen in the port city of Valparaiso, 120km west of Chile's capital Santiago.

Chocair told media after the event that it had focused on fighting illegal fishing and an information exchange mechanism covering salmon farming. The two also discussed the Norwegian companies' fulfillment of environment and labor laws; and the effect of fish consumption on human health.

"We will continue developing and promoting aid and exchanges, whether it be studies and research in fishing or areas closely related to international trade," Ulriksen said.

For suggestions or comments about our CCA Bulletin feel to contact us at cca@iecanada.com

If you do not wish to continue receiving the CCA Update, contact us at: cca@iecanada.com. Type in Unsubscribe in the Subject line.

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.