At the end of January, Québec Premier Jean Charest, accompanied by Minister of International Relations Pierre Arcand, met with the Prime Minister of Haiti, Jean-Max Bellerive, who was in Montréal for a ministerial meeting leading up to a major conference on planning the reconstruction of the Caribbean country. The meeting participants included the Canadian, French, American and Brazilian foreign ministers.
In the Indian capital, Premier Jean Charest took part on February 5 in the plenary session of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit alongside Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and other world leaders.
The governments of Québec and Canada recently confirmed their support for five green infrastructure projects with a total price tag of over $600 million. The projects involve the construction of organic waste treatment centres equipped with biomethanation and composting systems in the Greater Montréal area and Québec City.
On February 21, Pierre Arcand, Minister of International Relations and Minister responsible for La Francophonie, will set out on his first mission to the United States since the January 2010 release of the Québec Government’s U.S. Strategy.
The Government of Québec has taken part for over 20 years in the annual meetings of the World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland. At the end of January, Premier Jean Charest, accompanied by Clément Gignac, Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, was an active participant in the 40th edition of the WEF’s Davos meeting, held under the theme “Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign and Rebuild.”
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is one of four major filmfests in the Los Angeles area. Each year, it zeroes in on cinema from a specific nation via its “Focus On...” section. For its 25th-anniversary edition, held from February 4 to 14, the SBIFF introduced film buffs to Québec’s high-quality cinema.
As part of a Council of the Federation mission, Premier Jean Charest will be in Washington on February 19 and 20 to meet with the U.S. governors in attendance at the National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting in the U.S. capital.
The Québec firm J2 Procurement Management announced that it has been awarded a contract by Sonaca Belgium. Specialized in goods and services procurement advice, J2 evaluates and optimizes the potential of companies’ supply chains in order to increase their competitiveness and profitability. A member of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada, J2 has several years of experience in the purchasing of goods and services for SMEs and multinationals.
The 13th International Winter Road Congress, attended by delegates from over 50 countries, was an opportunity for Québec to highlight its expertise in sustainable winter road service. Held in Québec City, the congress wrapped up on February 11.
In a context of increasing globalization, many students want to do some or all of their studies abroad. Two Québec institutions, the Université de Montréal (U of M) and the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ), participated in Studyrama, a show in Brussels devoted to international educational institutions. To better promote their institutions abroad and to forge ties, representatives of the U of M and the ITHQ met with their counterparts from universities and competitive-entry schools. We know that cooperation between institutions is increasingly common, in particular to enable students to study for one or two sessions in a partner university or to pursue graduate studies or research activities there.
Antiviral drugs represent the first line of defense in the fight against new viral diseases, providing crucial protection until a vaccine becomes available. However, this sector of medical research, although very large, is of little commercial interest - and thus largely unattractive - to pharmaceutical
companies. With the notable exceptions of HIV and Hepatitis ‘C’, antiviral research continues to be one of the most neglected areas of medical research.
The economic mission to India led by Premier Jean Charest from February 1 to 6 generated a total of 33 agreements and announcements.
In the Indian capital, the last stop on his mission to the subcontinent, Québec Premier Jean Charest took part on February 5 in the plenary session of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), along with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and other high-profile personalities.