19 August 2014 – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto actively pursued its economic diplomacy program on August 16 as it welcomed a visiting delegation of Filipino businessmen from the Canadian Chamber (CANCHAM) of Commerce in the Philippines and participated in a multicultural and trade exhibit, “Filipinas Expo 2014” in downtown Toronto’s Metro Convention Center.
Philippine Consul General Junever M. Mahilum-West informed the delegates of the growing relations between the Philippines and Canada in terms of people-to-people contacts, tourism and official exchanges in her welcoming remarks that kickstarted CANCHAM’s week-long mission in Canada. Consul General Mahilum-West also said that visits of trade missions such as CANCHAM’s offer valuable opportunities to grow trade and investment relations between the Philippines and Canada, for the mutual benefits of both countries.
She exhorted the trade delegation to use the bilateral infrastructure and other resources that are already in place to strengthen bilateral economic relations between Canada and the Philippines.
Senator Tobias “Jun” Enverga, a keynote speaker, noted the huge potential in Canada-Philippines bilateral ties and called on the members of the trade delegation to generate more exchanges by making the unfamiliar Philippine market more familiar to Canadian business.
CANCHAM’s visit in Toronto which will also include the cities of Ottawa, Montreal and Guelph aims to bring together and explore ways to further expand business, trade and investment in both Canada and the Philippines. Its first outbound mission to Canada includes business interests in agri-food business packaging/labeling/manufacturing, education and training, real estate and construction, immigration consultancy, travel and tourism.
Also on the same day, the officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto led by Consul General Mahilum-West participated at a one-day trade exhibit organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce of Toronto (PCCT) at Metro Toronto Convention Center.
FILIPINAS EXPO 2014 saw the participation of more than a hundred exhibitors from Toronto’s multicultural groups which largely featured Philippine goods and services, food products, crafts and cuisine.
The Consulate General in Toronto for its part used the occasion to disseminate information about its consular services that include overseas voters registration, during which occasion applications from eligible “walk-in” registrants were actively undertaken, and dual citizenship as well as its “save the date” campaign on “Winter Escapade” Part 2. END