February 8, 1996
Vancouver, British Columbia
Excerpt from the Address by The Honourable Raymond Chan, Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific), to the Vancouver Board of Trade
Thank you for inviting me to join with you today to share my thoughts on the most recent Team Canada mission to the Asia Pacific region. I am pleased you have also invited Premier Harcourt to do the same, as he played a pivotal role in the mission's success. Perhaps one of the greatest successes of these Team Canada missions is that they allow federal and provincial politicians like the Premier and myself an opporunity to work together for the welfare of British Columbians and Canadians! As the Premier and the some 600 business leaders who participated in the mission can no doubt attest, Team Canada '96 to India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia demonstrated once again what we can accomplish as Canadians when we do work together.
When I visited Pakistan last March I was impressed with that country's resolve through its longest period of democratic government, Pakistan is confronting the challenge of sustainable growth and its immense needs indicate the potential for commerce and co-operation with Canada. Recent policy changes have liberalized private and foreign investment in the thermal power generation, oil and gas, mining and telecommunications sectors. And several important state enterprises are being privatized. These reforms have renewed private sector enthusiasm in Pakistan and have created greater opportunites for Canadian suppliers of goods, services and technology in these sectors. As evidence of Pakistan's potential, over $2 billion in economic agreements were signed and almost half of that value was in the form of firm commercial contracts. The deal covered sectors ranging from power - where BC Hydro will again be engaged - to satellite technology, to mass transit, to agri-food, to information technology - with Vancouver-based WorldTel signing a significant deal. UBC kicked in with a health project in respiratory medicine.
In fact, we see the year 1997 as the Year of Asia Pacific in Canada. Our plans are just beginning to shape up but we see it as a year marked not only by a number of APEC-related meetings, but by business events, cultural expositions and educational initiatives. Early in the year Canada will host the Asia Pacific Parliamentarians' Forum and some of you may also know that Vancouver will be the site of the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention in August 1997. This one event will offer Canadians a chance to tap into some of the world's most dynamic - and wealthy - potential partners.
The Prime Minister has asked me to oversee these efforts and I have alredy begun planning. Rest assured, our region will play a prominent role.
In closing, I am extremely excited about the potential of both the opportunities in Asia and our capacity to capitalize on those opportunities. Indeed, the recent Team Canada mission again demonstrated how much we can accomplish if we work together. When we're skating together as a team, Team Canada is a winner every time.
Thank you.
The Honourable Raymond Chan
Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)
