Prime Minister announces dates for APEC meetings in Vancouver
January 8, 1997
Vancouver, British Columbia
Prior to the departure of the Team Canada 1997 mission to Korea,
the Philippines and Thailand, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
today announced that the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be
held on November 24 and 25 in Vancouver. This meeting will be
preceded by the ninth APEC Ministerial Meeting on November 22
and 23.
"It is appropriate that Team Canada 1997 should depart from
Vancouver -- the Canadian gateway to Asia-Pacific. I look forward
to showing my fellow APEC leaders the warmth of our hospitality
and the entrepreneurship that drives this vibrant city,"
said the Prime Minister. "I am confident it will be the highlight
of 1997 -- Canada's Year of Asia Pacific -- which will celebrate
and strengthen our longstanding social, cultural and business
ties within the Pacific community."
The leaders' meeting will be held in the Great Hall of Arthur
Erickson's award-winning Museum of Anthropology, located on the
campus of the University of British Columbia. The ministerial
meeting will take place under the landmark sails of Vancouver's
Trade and Convention Centre at Canada Place.
In addition to these Vancouver meetings, Canada will host ministerial
meetings on trade (Montreal, May 9-10), sustainable development
(Toronto, June 9-11), transport (Victoria, June 22-24), energy
(Edmonton, August 27-29) and small- and medium-sized enterprises
(Ottawa, September 18-19). Preparatory meetings of APEC Senior
Officials will also be held in Victoria, Quebec City and St. John's.
These activities will be complemented by business, cultural and
youth activities being held across the country as part of Canada's
Year of Asia Pacific. These activities aim to help Canadians,
particularly small- and medium-sized businesses and young people,
become a part of the significant commercial and other opportunities
that being a Pacific nation presents.
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