Mayor of Montréal's economic mission to Israel and the West Bank - Montréal signs strategic partnership agreements in key sectors

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 21, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Mayor of Montréal and President of the Montréal Metropolitan Community, Denis Coderre, drew up a positive statement of his economic mission to Israel and the West Bank with the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, which took place November 13 to 18. This mission, organized by the two cities together with the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, Montréal International and the Toronto Region Board of Trade, has direct spinoffs for Montréal.

Thirteen strategic partnership agreements were signed by companies and university institutions in key areas including cyber-security, clean technologies, the digital sector, research and higher education.   

"This mission helped to strengthen ties with Israel and the West Bank, with whom we already have productive relationships, thanks to the vitality of the Montréal community. All of the activities and agreements resulting from this mission to strengthen Montréal's position as an innovative city and a centre of excellence in advanced fields, with a view to supporting our economic and urban development objectives, including electrification of transportation. This mission paves the way for future partnerships that could be developed through our newly-built relationships," said the Mayor of Montréal. 

"Mission participants established contacts with key partners and gained valuable visibility on the Israeli and West Bank markets. Concrete results include the signing of strategic agreements between city businesses and institutions. In addition to accelerating our trade exchanges, this mission will concretely strengthen cooperation between our research and higher education centres. The internationalisation of businesses is a priority issue for the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and we plan to continue our efforts to increase competitiveness of businesses and steer them toward foreign markets," added Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan. 

Profitable agreements for Montréal
The following commercial agreements were signed: Agreement to transfer to Montréal the North American headquarters of Israeli company Tefron; Distribution agreement between the Québec firm Mirades and Israeli technology company GamaSec for the protection of cyber-security solutions throughout Québec and Canada; Agreement between the Québec firm PM SCADA Cybersecurity and Israeli SCADAfence to expand the SCADAfence laboratory in Montréal, and a Partnership between the Québec firm Renewz and Israeli firm Inbar Solar Energy to distribute and install solar shelter products in Israel. Renewz also publicly launched its new iSun platform in Israel and signed a cooperation agreement with Israeli company Driivz on energy management platforms involving electric vehicle rates. Following a meeting with Mayor Coderre, Phinergy announced a pilot-projet aimed at testing its aluminum-air technology for electric vehicles and stationary applications in Montréal.

Montréal university institutions also signed academic cooperation agreements to promote research, innovation, economic development as well as the mobility and exchange of students and researchers. HEC Montréal and COMAS Israel jointly launched the IQBator virtual incubator, which will help three Montréal institutions (Université de Montréal, HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal) and COMAS to transform their ideas into concrete business projects. Concordia University signed three agreements with four Israeli universities: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University. The Université de Montréal signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Tel Aviv. 

Tourism Montréal, the Israel Government Tourist Office and Jerusalem Convention & Visitors Bureau signed two protocols to promote exchanges and joint initiatives in the field of tourism.

Productive activities and meetings for the promotion of Montréal and the advancement of a new urban diplomacy
With "Montréal and Toronto, your business partners" as a theme, mayors Coderre and Tory addressed an audience of 200 Israeli business leaders brought together by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce to promote Canada's two largest cities as well as business opportunities. The two mayors repeated their message of business cooperation at a business luncheon in Ramallah attended by members of the Ramallah and West Bank business communities.

The mayors of Montréal and Toronto met officially with their counterparts from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva (Israel) and Ramallah (West Bank).

Given the bonds of friendship that have brought our two cities together since the signing of the Declaration of Intent in 1996, the Mayor of Montréal, Denis Coderre, and the Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, Ron Huldai, signed a friendship and cooperation agreement to build close relationships in the fields of economic development, Living Together, culture, transportation and urban planning.

The Azrieli Foundation announced, in the presence of the mayors of Montréal and Tel Aviv, an international conference and exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 and Montréal's 375th anniversary, jointly with Concordia University and Tel Aviv University, to be held next year in Montréal.

Following the mayors' meeting, it was agreed that a first cooperation agreement between Montreal and Ramallah will be signed, as bonds are strengthened towards becoming twin cities.

The cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva joined the International Observatory of Mayors on Living Together. The Observatory, which is a Montréal initiative, is a platform for sharing experiences, pioneering initiatives and knowledge on cohesion, inclusion and urban safety. It has brought together 35 international cities since its creation.

Mayor Coderre delivered a keynote speech at the 31st International Mayors' Conference hosted by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and held discussions with other senior political and government representatives, including Tzipi Hotovely, the Deputy Foreign Minister, Michael Oren, Deputy Minister for Diplomacy in the Prime Minister's Office, and the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament), Yuli Edelstein. Topics of discussion were the role of cities and urban diplomacy, the new urban agenda, Living Together and the fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of racism.

Cultural industries: An important Montréal export
On their arrival in Tel Aviv, mayors Coderre and Tory attended a performance by Montréal's Cirque Eloize, currently on tour in Tel Aviv. The mayors met with the Cirque's President, Jeannot Painchaud, as well as with performers.

"I would like to thank the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, as well as the delegates from Montréal and Toronto, who through dedication and quality, innovative products and projects, contributed to the success of this mission which will have concrete economic, academic, social, tourism and cultural spinoffs for our two cities. By joining forces, we have successfully improved competitiveness on the international scene," said Mayor Denis Coderre.

Photos can be downloaded here.

Other press releases for reference purposes:

Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
11 strategic agreements for Montréal  
http://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/mission-commerciale-en-israel-et-en-cisjordanie--11-ententes-strategiques-pour-la-metropole-601508505.html

Phinergy
A partneship to test aluminum-air technology for electric vehicles and stationary uses
http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/economic-mission-to-israel-and-the-west-bank---montreal-and-phinergy-to-establish-a-partneship-to-test-aluminum-air-technology-for-electric-vehicles-and-stationary-uses-601000875.html

HEC Montréal
HEC Montréal and COMAS (Israel) launch a virtual incubator
http://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/mission-economique-du-maire-de-montreal-en-israel---hec-montreal-et-comas-disrael-lancent-un-incubateur-virtuel-601480855.html

Tourism Montréal
Tourism Montréal and the Jerusalem Convention and Visitors Bureau sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation  
http://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/tourisme-montreal-et-loffice-du-tourisme-de-jerusalem-signent-un-protocole-dentente-de-collaboration-601500575.html

Renewz
Renewz of Montréal and Driivz of Tel Aviv sign a cooperation agreement on charging management platforms for electric vehicles
http://www.renewz.com/renewz-de-montreal-et-driivz-de-tel-aviv-signent-un-accord-de-collaboration-sur-les-plates-formes-de-gestion-de-lalimentation-lies-a-la-recharge-des-vehicules-electriques/?lang=fr

Renewz
Renewz launches the iSun solar shelter platform on the Israeli market
http://www.renewz.com/renewz-lance-sa-plate-forme-dabri-solaire-isun-vers-le-marche-israelien/?lang=fr

For more information on the International Observatory of Mayors on Living Together: observatoirevivreensemble.org/en

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

Source: Marc-André Gosselin, Press Attaché, Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee, Ville de Montréal, 514 290-1194; Information: François Goneau, Public Relations Officer, Communications, 514 868-5859