QUEBEC — Exports from Quebec have grown by 17% compared to 2020, said Monday the Minister of International Relations, Nadine Girault.
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“We really see that there is a very, very strong increase in exports. We are starting to pick up the pace,” she told 400 members of the Montreal Council for International Relations (CORIM).
Ms. Girault took advantage of the videoconference on Monday to draw up a positive assessment of the action of her ministry after two years of a pandemic, despite the “fears” that were felt.
“The pandemic has even allowed us to intensify certain actions internationally, she said. Our relationships have not only been maintained, we have also often found ways to expand our networks of contacts.
Virtual meetings have multiplied.
“The year 2020-2021 was a record year, with more than 3,800 diplomatic actions. (…) It was truly exceptional what our 300 employees in 18 different countries were able to do,” she said.
Since 2019, the year in which the Ministry of International Relations undertook an economic shift, there have been 47% more economic diplomacy actions (meetings, conferences), added the Minister.
The offices in Los Angeles and Houston, in the United States, have in particular been elevated to the rank of delegations.
After a drop in exports of 7.8% in 2019-2020, “the recovery (…) is stronger than that of our imports”.
“It’s a very, very good sign, because we are in the process of reducing our trade deficit. Our exports (…) are at $90 billion. So it’s 17% more than in 2020, ”says Ms. Girault.
According to her, certain sectors appear more promising than others: this is the case in particular of aeronautics, aluminum, forest products, health technologies and clean technologies.
“We want to push that outward,” she said.
Asked about American protectionism, or even Brexit, Ms. Girault minimized their effects on Quebec, contenting herself with saying that the delegations “work very hard”.
She defended herself from seeing international relations only through the economic prism; Quebec’s actions in terms of so-called influence diplomacy, of a more political nature, have increased by 41% since 2019.
“For me, diplomacy is like a home. The foundation of the house is really the diplomacy of influence. (…) We added a floor to this house, the economic floor”, she explained.
In addition, the office of Ms. Girault announced Monday that 41% of heads of post abroad are now women, which places the network in the parity zone.
The minister did not say a word about the tensions in Ukraine, nor about Quebec’s relations with China. She also did not say whether Prime Minister François Legault intended to carry out a mission abroad in 2022.
Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press