Press release
Launch of the first edition of the Annual Conference for Quebec Export Professionals Montreal, June 18, 2003 - The Annual Conference for Quebec Export Professionals officially opens today in Montreal. Designed to serve Quebec export-service providers, this innovative two-day event offers speakers and workshops on major issues and the global economic context as well as resources placed at the disposal of Quebec exporters. This conference is a joint initiative of the World Trade Centre Montréal, a branch of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, and PÔLE Québec Chaudière-Appalaches, an economic development organization.
Both for Greater Montreal and for the entire province, exports are and will continue to be vital to economic development. When you realize that exports have tripled in value within the past decade, soaring from $33 billion in 1990 to almost $90 billion in 2001, you better understand the significance of issues facing export professionals in terms of both the rapid growth of activities and the number of stakeholders involved in the delivery of services. This conference was designed to meet the specific needs of these experts and give them a better idea of all of the services offered to their community by organizations such as the World Trade Centre Montréal, declared Benoit Labonté, president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
The Annual Conference for Quebec Export Professionals emerged from several observations, affirmed Charles Boulanger, president of PÔLE Québec Chaudière-Appalaches. Players in this sector have no common venue for meeting and sharing ideas. Each service provider organizes its own marketing and international prospecting activities for its own clientele. Resources and opportunities for training and learning how best to meet customer needs are rare and often non-existent in some Quebec regions. An event of this scope will provide ways to maximize spin-offs within the industry and optimize synergies among export professionals throughout Quebec, added Boulanger.
The organizers of this event would like to thank Canada Economic Development (CED) and the Québec ministère du Développement économique et régional (MDER) for their financial support and participation in this conference.
The World Trade Centre Montréal, a branch of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, provides export services to the business community.
The mission of PÔLE Québec Chaudière-Appalaches is to promote economic development efforts in targeted sectors of activity so as to position the region competitively on the international scene and increase its collective wealth. -30-
For information:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: (514) 871-4000, ext. 4015
spaquette@ccmm.qc.ca
