Québec more present than ever at Davos On January 29, Premier Jean Charest, accompanied by Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade Clément Gignac, concluded a three-day mission to Davos, Switzerland, during which they participated in the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Study in Québec! Studyrama is an essential rendezvous in Brussels for students choosing programs of study in Belgium or abroad. The 2010 edition of the fair will be held on Saturday, February 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

European Union : An Original Contribution to Federalism around the World? That is the subject that will be broached by Mr Jean-Luc Dehaene, member of the European Parliament and Prime Minister of Belgium from 1992 to 1999 during a talk with lunch organised by the Conseil des Relations internationals de Montréal (CORIM) on 16 February 2010 in the Hôtel Omni Mont-Royal in Montreal.

International initiatives and diplomacy: Trends and forecasts Some communities, regions and federated states, including Québec, Flanders, Wallonia, Catalonia and Scotland, are engaged in international endeavours in parallel to the diplomacy carried out by their national states. This topic was the focal point of an international colloquium entitled “Towards a ‘third wave’ in sub-state diplomacy?” held on January 19 in Brussels at the initiative of the Flemish Centre for International Policy, the European Union Committee of the Regions and the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael.

Comprehensive economic and trade agreement between Canada and the European Union Negotiations were held in Brussels this week. The second round of negotiations for a broad economic partnership agreement between Canada and the European Union took place in Brussels from January 18 to 22.

Belgian participation in the XIIIth International Winter Road Congress A Belgian mission will take part in the XIIIth International Winter Road Congress, to be held in Québec City from February 8 to 11, 2010. It will be composed of Claude Van Rooten, member of the Executive Committee of the World Road Association (PIARC) and Director General of the Road Research Centre (RRC); Jean-Claude Moureau, President of the RRC and Director General of Bruxelles-Mobilité; and Etienne Scherpereel, Vice-President of the RRC and President of the Fédération belge des entrepreneurs de voirie.

Representatives of French language organizations meet in Liège Every year, French language organizations from France, Switzerland, Québec and the French Community of Belgium meet to review their cooperation activities, develop new initiatives and discuss topics of common interest during a symposium.

STRASBOURG - Interacting in diversity for social cohesion Organized jointly by the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the Government of Québec, a conference called “Interacting in diversity for social cohesion” was held in Strasbourg on December 7 and 8. Europe and the world are changing, and public institutions have to meet growing user demand for adapted services.

Copenhagen: Québec enters into multiple alliances Premier Jean Charest and Line Beauchamp, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, outlined the initiatives undertaken by Québec at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Climate Group leaders committed to reducing greenhouse gases Québec Premier Jean Charest took the floor during the Climate Leaders Summit convened by The Climate Group on December 15 in Copenhagen. The Summit was the largest meeting of heads of federated states and regions ever held during a Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP). The participants, who also included industry leaders, all agreed on the need to implement a global agreement on climate change.

Profitable cooperation between Brussels-Capital region and Government of Québec In March 2009, the Government of Québec and the Brussels-Capital Region signed a cooperation program in the area of contaminated land rehabilitation.

La Francophonie Day of Discovery in Tokyo Over 150 people, mostly university students, participated in the La Francophonie Day of Discovery at Waseda University in Tokyo on December 13. This was the first event organized by the Council for the promotion of the Francophonie in Japan, an initiative encouraged by the Québec Government Office in Tokyo earlier this year.

25th Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie a success The Minister of International Relations and Minister responsible for La Francophonie, Pierre Arcand, was delighted with the outcome of the work accomplished at the 25th Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie (CMF), which ended on December 16 in Paris.

Québec consolidates its presence in Italy The new premises of the Québec government office in Rome were officially opened on December 14 by Christine St-Pierre, Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women.

CAE signs military contracts CAE announced today that it has signed a series of military contracts worth about $100 million with the Netherlands and Germany.

Québec and Assembly of European Regions usher in new era for Québec-Europe youth exchanges The Assembly of European Regions (AER) and Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec (LOJIC) have signed an agreement that marks the start of a new era for occupational stays for young adults from Québec and Europe.

Ministère du Tourisme du Québec takes part in Brussels Travel Expo On December 9, the Ministère du Tourisme, the Québec government department devoted to promoting tourism in Québec, took part in the Brussels Travel Expo.

Québec-Egypt university cooperation The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and the Ministry of Higher Education of the Arab Republic of Egypt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to intensify university cooperation between Québec and this Francophonie partner in the Middle East.

Québec plays key role at ACSUS’s 20th biennial conference Approximately 500 people attended the 20th biennial conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS), which was held in San Diego at the end of November. The conference is the main North American forum for US academics and researchers specializing in Canadian and Québec studies.

Québec authors visit Spain Spain welcomed several well-known Québec authors in November. The writers were in the country to take part in activities supported by the Québec Government office in Barcelona. An initial lecture tour organized by the International Association of Québec Studies (AIEQ) was devoted to authors Neil Bissoondath and Pierre Szalowski. Another event, flowing from an exchange between the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) and the Sala Beckett (Beckett theatre) in Barcelona, focused on playwrights Evelyne de la Chenelière, Catherine Léger and Larry Tremblay.