Friday, March 14, 2008

CCA Speech: Honourable Bob Rae- "A Meaningful Policy for the Americas" March 20, National Club

THE HONOURABLE BOR RAE
Liberal Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs

In his first major foreign policy speech following the March 17 federal by-election, Mr. Rae will outline the Liberal Party’s fundamental foreign policy objectives, and address Canada’s strategic opportunities and challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Date: Thursday March 20th, 2008
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Location: The National Club
303 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M5C 2R1

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

The FIA 2008 arises as the follow-up to the Americas Competitiveness Forum - ACF) that was held from June 11 to 12, 2007 in Atlanta, USA. The Forum, hosted by the US Commerce Department, convened over 600 top-level representatives of the public and private sectors from 20 nations in the Americas.
The event seeks to boost innovation as a tool for development and growth in the region, summoning well-known experts to our country, and offering attendees a chance to come together with leaders from the business sector, academia and government to explore issues related to Innovation in the Americas.

Fernando Lopez-Fabregat
Consul General
Consulate General of Uruguay
300 Sheppard Av. W Suite 302
Toronto ON M2N 1N5
Tel. 416-7301289
Fax. 416-7300192
E-mail: conurutor@on.aibn.com

On behalf of the Colombian Government, I would like to take this opportunity to formally invite you to participate in an exclusive Agrobusiness Matchmaking Forum to be held in Cartagena on April 2^nd and 3th. The focus of AgroBizmatch 2008 is the Food industry covering both fresh and processed products. This is an initiative of the Colombian Government to provide a win-win situation for buyers from Canada, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, and Italy to find sourcing alternatives from our exporters. During these two days, pre-arranged meetings will take place with agendas prepared in advance with the help of our consultants and with the buyer’s approval. Each Business Matchmaking meeting allows international buyers to meet face-to-face with a group of carefully selected Colombian sources. Here are more reasons why you should not miss this event:

· This is not merely an opportunity to trade business cards, as it is the case with traditional trade shows.

· This forum in Cartagena is a unique occasion for Canadian Buyers looking to expand and grow your businesses by increasing your international sources with high quality products from more than 600 qualified exporters.

· A team of specialized professionals will be available to help you prepare your personal agenda for this business days.

AgroBizmatch 2008 will certainly increase business opportunities for you company. Please log-in to our website at www.agrobizmatch2008.com to register now. Space is limited to 20 Canadian Companies. Once your company is approved, you will receive written confirmation and one roundtrip airfare to Cartagena per company will be granted. For additional information, agendas and travel arrangements feel free to contact Rafael Vargas at 416 363-9225 rvargas@proexport.ca or Miss. Claudia Rico at crico@proexport.ca

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 2008 LAVCA-AMEXCAP Summit will convene the major players in Latin American PE and VC, from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Central America for two days of high-level debate and discussion. Under the theme "Investing in the Future of Latin America", fund managers, investors, regulators and government officials will map out a path for the future of private capital in the region.

On April 9th-10th, the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA) and the Mexican Private Equity Association (AMEXCAP) will convene over 200 fund managers, investors, policymakers and regulators in Mexico City for an extraordinary joint Summit on the future of private capital investment.

Summit highlights include a program on the current investment landscape and opportunities in Mexico, a special investor workshop for regional pension funds and global institutional investors, and case studies of deals and exits from the leading managers in Latin America – from venture capital to mid-market buyouts and large-stage deals.

Alfredo Thorne, Managing Director of Economic and Policy Research for JPMorgan Chase will moderate a panel on mid- to long-term prospects for Latin America, with the participation of Francisco Gil Diaz, Former Finance Minister of Mexico and Gustavo Franco, Former Central Bank Governor of Brazil.

On April 9th LAVCA and AMEXCAP will also co-host a gala reception on Mexico City’s premier private club, Club de Industriales.

The International Economic Forum of the Americas - The Great Transition: Mastering Change

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 n 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.

" Argentina’s GDP expanded 8.7% in 2007, after having grown 9.1% in the fourth quarter, up 1.9% from the previous quarter announced Thursday in Buenos Aires the country’s Statistics and Census Office, Indec."

In addition, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced earlier this week that the national reserves in Central Bank International are at a record 50 billion dollars ( US).

The accumulated amount comes from global demand and record prices for commodities, Argentina’s policy of keeping the Peso on par with the US dollar was also helpful, boosting the country’s exports.

Foreign investments are pouring in and out of Chile: foreign investment in the country nearly doubled to 15 billion dollars ( US) since last year, and its own foreign investment in other countries grew almost 94 since 2006.

"Canada was the principal source of materialized FDI at 333 million US dollars, followed by the United States, with 265 million, Colombia with 194 million and Spain with 106 million," as Merco Press reports,

Almost 23 per cent of the of investments were made in the nation’s mining sector, followed by19 per cent in the retail industry, and the financial service sector took in about 18 per cent. Electricity, gas and water sectors accounted to over 12 per cent.

Cuban, Spanish Experts Study Renewable Energy Cooperation
(Xinhua)

Cuban and Spanish experts began talks here on Wednesday on renewable energy cooperation.

Spain has made great efforts in making use of wind energy, and the two countries could cooperate in this field since both nations have lots of sunshine and strong winds, Juan Arenas, the Spanish president of a joint commission, said at the meeting.

The meeting would allow Cuba to get acquainted with most modern Spanish wind energy technologies, said President of the Cuban Trade Chamber Raul Becerra.

Officials from the countries will also discuss other renewable energy programs including hydraulics, sugar cane and forest biomass.

Spain is Cuba's third largest trading partner after Venezuela and China, and its exports to the Caribbean country has increased 40 percent in the past three years.

Spanish exports to Cuba in 2007 surpassed 1 billion U.S. dollars, according to official figures.

Haiti is moving towards debt relief, reaching an important stage to secure this outcome at the end of the year.

There are more completion points still to be reached, commitments made under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

Once Haiti completes the commitments. IDB will give 525 million dollars ( US), on top of the 20 million dollars ( US) interim relief granted for the nation’s 2007 and 2008 repayments.

IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno visited Haiti last weekend to meet with Haiti’s President René Préval, about the progress.

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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.