A historic event - The mayors of Montréal and Toronto to carry out joint economic mission to Israel and the West Bank

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 9, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Mayor of Montréal, the Honorable Denis Coderre, and the Mayor of Toronto, His Worship John Tory, will lead a joint economic mission to Israel and the West Bank from November 13 to 18, 2016. This historic cooperation, which was organized jointly by the Ville de Montréal, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, Montréal International, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Region Board of Trade (BOT), is in keeping with the commitment of the mayors of the country's two largest cities to join forces and become more competitive on the international scene.

The mayors, accompanied by 120 Montréal and Toronto entrepreneurs, business people and representatives of institutional and community organizations, will visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva (Israel), Ramallah and Bethlehem (West Bank). This mission will also take place as part of the 4th International HLS & Cyber 2016 Conference on physical and cyber security, and the 31st International Conference of Mayors, organized by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

"I look forward to presiding over this economic mission with the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, with whom we have signed a historic cooperation and partnership agreement in April 2016. Given the high-profile of the delegation, I am convinced that this mission will help promote our expertise and added-value innovative products as well as create new collaborations that will be mutually beneficial, especially in the fields of cyber security, clean technologies, startups, the digital sector and creative industries," said Mayor Coderre.

"Israel has emerged as a leading global hub for technology due in part to its successful incubator ecosystem," said Mayor Tory. "Our mission is to learn how government interventions have facilitated the rapid growth of their technology sector, learn from their innovations and connect Toronto businesses with opportunities in their market."

"This economic mission brings together 51 businesses of the Greater Montreal area. This shows the strong interest of the Montréal business community towards Israel and the West Bank. This open market is filled with business opportunities, and direct foreign investments abound. Israel is recognized for its strong entrepreneurial culture, as evidenced by the number of startups. The priority to innovation enables expertise to emerge in high-tech sectors. Montréal businesses have an interest in beginning or strengthening their approach in this market," said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

"Trade missions provide an important opportunity to demonstrate we are open for business and know how to work with international markets and partners," said Jan De Silva, President and CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade. "This mission will showcase the vibrancy of two of Canada's largest centres of commerce and innovation − Toronto and Montreal. It will expose our business communities and civic leaders to one of the most dynamic start-up environments in the world. Our Toronto delegation includes influential representatives from leading financial services firms, eager to contrast Israel's Fintech and cybersecurity ecosystem to ours and identify transferable best practices for our global financial centre."

Canada-Israel trade relations   
Israel is home to more than 8 million people and is a major trade partner for Canada in the Middle East region and North Africa. It offers a wide range of business opportunities, especially in the trade, investment, science, technology and innovation sectors. Since the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement came into force in 1997, the value of trade in goods between our two countries has tripled, reaching $1.5 billion in 2014. In 2015, the leading merchandise exports from Canada to Israel were valued at $342 million.

Canada-West Bank trade relations
With a population of more than 3 million people, the West Bank is recognized for its highly qualified workforce, as evidenced by the large number of multinational companies. The new technologies sector is expanding strongly, supported by the creation of new high-level university programs and introduction of several incubators.

To view daily video capsules on the mission, please visit the CCMM Youtube account at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcKt3yteCzkJ1673Z1Oh8ug

---

MISSION ÉCONOMIQUE CONJOINTE DES MAIRES DE MONTRÉAL ET TORONTO EN ISRAËL ET CISJORDANIE

Les maires président une mission économique de 120 participants

Survol du programme du maire et des entreprises montréalaises 

Le programme du maire de Montréal et de la délégation de 51 entreprises montréalaises comprend des rencontres et activités à Tel Aviv, Be'er Sheva, Jérusalem, Ramallah et Bethléem.

Tout au cours de la semaine, le Maire et la délégation auront une multitude de rencontres d'affaires visant à développer des partenariats avec des entreprises, centres de recherche et d'innovation et institutions œuvrant dans différents écosystèmes, notamment les domaines de la cybersécurité; de l'énergie propre et des technologies de transport électrique et intelligent; des incubateurs; des start-ups; du numérique et des industries créatives; et du financement communautaire. La délégation participera à la Conférence internationale HLS & Cyber, et effectuera également des visites auprès d'institutions universitaires, notamment l'Université Ben Gurion, l'Université hébraïque de Jérusalem et l'Université de Tel Aviv.

La Fédération des chambres de commerce d'Israël accueillera les maires de Montréal et Toronto et les délégations pour un important déjeuner d'affaires à Tel Aviv, et un déjeuner d'affaires semblable aura lieu à Ramallah, les deux événements rassemblant des partenaires locaux actuels et potentiels.

Les maires de Montréal et Toronto auront des rencontres officielles avec leurs homologues des quatre villes, au cours desquelles il sera question de relations économiques ainsi que de diplomatie urbaine. Le maire aura également des entretiens avec d'autres personnalités politiques et gouvernementales, incluant en marge de la 31^e Conférence internationale des maires.  

Soulignons enfin que la mission aura débuté sur une note de promotion culturelle, les maires de Montréal et Toronto et les délégations assistant à une prestation du Cirque Eloize, de Montréal, présentement en tournée en Israël. Les maires feront aussi quelques arrêts dans des lieux significatifs de la région, notamment Bethleem ainsi qu'à Yad Vashem, le Musée national de l'Holocauste.

Liste des entreprises - Mission commerciale en Israël et en Cisjordanie
1	Air Canada
2	Aperdev Investments
3	BCF Avocats d'affaires
4	C2 Montréal
5	Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec
6	Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
7	Canadian Friends of the University of Tel Aviv
8	Centre d'entreprises et d'innovation de Montréal
9	Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
10	Cirque du Soleil
11	Cirque Eloize
12	Claridge
13	Concordia University
14	Conseil Economique et Tourisme du Haut Richelieu
15	De Grandpré Chait
16	Delve Labs
17	Dunton Rainville
18	Ernst and young
19	Export Québec
20	Fasken Martineau
21	Finance Montréal
22	Genome Quebec
23	Groupe Conseil C-TPAT
24	Groupe M. Bacal
25	HEC
26	Humanitas
27	Hydro-Québec
28	Lamour
29	Ministère de l'Économie, de la Science et de l'Innovation
30	Mirades inc.
31	Montréal International
32	Nixa
33	Onist Technologies
34	Palmex
35	Perspective Real Estate
36	PM Scada
37	PME MTL centre-ville
38	Quorum Canada
39	Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
40	Real ventures
41	Renewz inc
42	Simboliq Technologies
43	Smart Reno
44	Stikeman Elliott
45	The Wallrus
46	Tourisme Montréal
47	Université Concordia
48	Université de Montréal
49	VoD2
50	Water Cluster Scientific
51	XPND Capital

SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Cabinet du maire et du comité exécutif

Sources: Marc-André Gosselin, Press Attaché, Office of the Mayor and the Executive Committee, Ville de Montréal, 514 290-1194; Keerthana Kamalavasan, Senior Advisor, Communications, Office of the Mayor of Toronto, 647-460-7507; Guillaume Bérubé, Advisor, Media Relations, Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, 514 871-4000 #4042; Information: François Goneau, Communications Officer, Service des communications, Ville de Montréal, 514 868-5859