Canada Egypt Business Council held its seventh trade mission which took place from June 6th to June 10th. The delegates visited throughout the previous mission Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The main aim of the mission is to extend the trade and investment linkage and enhance the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Canada. The visit assisted in bridging the partnership between the two countries.

 On June 6, Canada Egypt Business Council held a business conference in Toronto under the name of “Egypt Ontario Business Seminar” in cooperation with the Government of Ontario, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Global Affairs Canada, Embassy of Canada to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Canada Arab Business Council, the Egyptian Commercial Service and generously sponsored by Zaher Group. The seminar’s aim is to enhance and strengthen the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Canada and to promote the trade between the 2 countries.

 Egypt Ontario business Seminar started by the presence of high profile representatives from Canada. The event was attended by Mr. Motaz Raslan; Chairman of Canada Egypt Business Council, Mr. Scott Jollifee; Chairman of Canada Arab Business Council, John Troy; Mayor of Toronto, Mr. Corie McDougall Assistant Deputy Minister – Export Growth and International Representation, Dr. Sherif El Gabaly; Head of the African Affairs Committee at the Egyptian Parliament and Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Canada.

 The Egypt Ontario Business Seminar began with welcome remarks by the two Council’s Chairpersons, Mr.Scott Jollifee and Mr. Motaz Raslan. Mr. Raslan mentioned in his speech the significance of the business cooperation between Canada and Egypt. He explained the challenges of bridging the communication amid of the Covid pandemic and the Ukrainian War. Mr. Raslan also indicated that the aim of the mission is to extend the trade linkage and enhance the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Canada. The speech ended by thanking the Canadian partners for their immense support in bridging the dialogue between the two countries.

 The event also included physical & virtual presentations by Mr. Rocco Rossi; Head of Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Yahya Elawathik Bellah; Head of the Egyptian Commercial Services and Mr. Tarek Hashem; General Manager of International Cooperation, Suez Canal Industrial Zone and Suez Canal Economic Development explaining the Canadian Egyptian trade & investment opportunities.

On June 7th, Canada Egypt Business Council visited Seneca College; Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) and Mechatronics lab. Also the delegation paid a visit to the Arthur P. Kennedy facilities, operated by the Ontario Clean Water Agency. The facility focuses on providing water to Brampton, Mississauga, parts of Caledon and York Region, which are all located on the shore of Lake Ontario. The delegation ended the day in Toronto visiting DMZ innovation Hub of Toronto, Metropolitian University, where entrepreneurship and business incubator concepts were further explained.

 On June 8th, the delegates started the day in Ottawa meeting with Mr. Arif Virani, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development of Canada; in which he emphasized the significance of bilateral cooperation with Egypt as the gateway to Africa.

The delegates also attended a reception hosted by H.E. Ahmed Abo-Zeid, Ambassador of Egypt to Canada at his official residence, where the delegates exchanged dialogue with high profile governmental representatives and the Egyptian community in Canada. The visit at Ottawa ended by the delegates’ site visit at the Senate of Canada followed by a meeting with Canada Egypt Parliamentary Friendship Group (CEPFG) before travelling to Montreal.

 On June 9th, the delegates started their meetings in Montreal with Mr. Charles-Frédérick Paquin, Sales and Business Development Manager Sources Saint-Élie Inc with Mr. Raslan followed by a round-table held by the Egyptian Canadian Business Network Organization in cooperation with Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) and the presence of VP of Investment Quebec -TBC.

Finally, the delegates visit to Montreal ended with a dinner at the residence of the General Consul of the Arab Republic of Egypt which included high profile members of the Canadian Business sector, academic and the Egyptian Community in Canada to reinforce the bilateral relations between the two countries.