Hello everyone,
Off to a great start this morning, as we began our day with a visit to the delegation of Quebec in Munich. We had the pleasure to meet Marie-Ève Jean, the general delegate, as well as part of the team that work’s there, including Véronique Aimée Dion (Political, Public Affairs and Cooperation Adviser), Élise Roy (Director of Economic Affairs), Marianne Pauchant (Technician in support of the economic section) et Gabrielle Simard (Scientist in Residence).
They presented in detail what they do and in which domain they operate; Economic, cultural, and politic. Their main objective is to serve as a bridge between Quebec and Germany for these sectors.
They represent Quebec in Germany, in Austria, as well as in Switzerland. As a general delegation, they operate in all the sectors named precedingly. There is also an antenna in Berlin that has a more specific role focused on culture.
During the presentation, we learned the main interactions between Quebec and Germany, in key sectors for imports (mainly minerals for the manufacturing sector), and export (cars and aerospace). We learned that Germany is Quebec’s first economic partner in Europe and fourth in the world.
Having an extended network of contacts in Germany, the delegation has the power to accompany industries from Quebec in Germany. Recently, they participated in two internationally renowned fairs, one in Hanover and one in Bauma, where they offered support to Quebec’s companies concerning their integration in Germany, mainly concerning adaptation to German and Bavarian culture.
Their privileged position allowed them to facilitate meetings between companies from Quebec with key actors in different sectors.
We ended our meeting by talking about culture, mainly about the differences and similarities between Quebec, Germany, and Bavaria.