25 October 2017, Ottawa – Ambassador Petronila Garcia officially welcomed the business delegates from the Philippines who are visiting Toronto, Ottawa and Niagara and other attendees of the Trade and Investment Forum held today at the Mindanao Hall of the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa. In her remarks, Ambassador Garcia included a briefing on the status of Philippines-Canada bilateral trade and investment relations.

Senator Tobias Enverga, Jr. addressed the forum and noted the progress in the negotiations of an ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement while former Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines, Mr. Neil Reeder, talked about Filipino immigrants’ contribution to Canada’s society. He emphasized the Filipinos’ industry and keen ability to adapt to new environments and assimilate to local communities.

Speakers from TFO Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Export Development Canada, and MCI International briefed participants of their respective mandates which facilitate the flow of trade and investment from Canada to other countries, and vice versa. Mr. Eric Gerardo E. Tamayo, Minister for Economic Affairs at the Embassy, briefed the delegates on the opportunities in the agricultural sector in the Philippines.

The Trade and Investment Mission, organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, was composed of delegates from Agro Industrial Cable, Transport, Inc., BF Industries, Inc., KCD Builders Corporation, KCD Technical Institute, Inc., KF Nutri Foods International, Inc., Lao Integrated Farms, Inc., NewLuxe International, Inc., and the Provincial Government of Cagayan. END.