NEWS RELEASES
MARCHI TO VISIT JAPAN AND ATTEND QUAD MEETING
May 7, 1999 (1:00 p.m. EDT) No. 102
MARCHI TO VISIT JAPAN AND ATTEND QUAD MEETING
International Trade Minister Sergio Marchi will visit Japan from May 10 to 12 to meet with leading Japanese
government and business leaders, and to attend the 32nd Quadrilateral Trade Ministers' (QUAD) meeting.
The Minister will also help to lay the groundwork for the upcoming Team Canada Mission to Japan and
Australia this September.
"We want to let Canadian entrepreneurs know that substantial trade and investment opportunities continue to
exist in Japan, despite the economic situation in Asia," said Minister Marchi. "We also want to reinforce the
message to Japanese business that Canada is a desirable, high-tech location in which to invest."
Japan is Canada's second-largest trading partner. Two-way trade exceeded $22 billion in 1998.
During the visit, Minister Marchi will meet with Kaoru Yosano, Japan's Minister of International Trade and
Industry, Hirochi Okuda, Chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation and the Japan-Canada Economic
Committee of the Keidanren, and Noboru Hatakeyama, Chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization
(JETRO).
The Minister will also meet with members of the education press to publicize educational opportunities
available to Japanese students in Canada. Canada is a cost-effective, safe place for Japanese students to
receive high-quality education. More than 8600 Japanese studied in Canada in 1998, representing over 11
percent of all foreign students in Canada.
On Wednesday, May 12, Minister Marchi will meet with trade ministers from the European Union, Japan and
the United States at the QUAD meeting in Tokyo to review recent developments in international trade and to
continue the planning and preparation for the World Trade Organization ministerial conference in Seattle,
Washington in November.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Leslie Swartman Media Relations Office
Office of the Minister for International Trade Department of Foreign Affairs and
(613) 992-7332 International Trade
(613) 995-1874
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