Prime Minister Xavier Bettel met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa yesterday for a meeting to strengthen trade ties between the two countries.
"A long friendship links Canada and Luxembourg. Beyond these friendly ties, our relations have great potential,” said the Prime Minister, explaining that Luxembourg's cumulative direct investment in Canada was close to €43 billion in 2015, making the Grand Duchy the third largest source of foreign direct investment in Canada.
At the same time, Canadian investment in Luxembourg reached $35 billion In 2015, ranking fourth in the world for Canadian direct investment abroad.
"With Mr. Trudeau, we have agreed to deepen not only our political relations, but also economic relations, notably by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union (CETA).
“This new agreement will contribute to a rebalancing between the economic actors and the political sphere in order to put the global economic system on a more sustainable and social basis. Canada and the European Union (EU) are economic and social players with similar values at comparable wage levels. It is in my eyes a free trade agreement of a new generation where product quality, know-how and respect for our standards, including environmental and social ones, take precedence. From this point of view, the agreement is a major qualitative leap in achieving a more just and social social order. Following the approval of the CETA by the European Parliament and the upcoming ratification of Canada, the provisional application of the agreement should therefore demonstrate the added value of the agreement for both the EU and Canada,” said Bettel.
On the sidelines of the visit, Guy Daleiden, Director of the National Support Fund for Audiovisual Production and Olivier Nicoloff, Canada's Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, signed a new audiovisual co-production treaty between Luxembourg and Canada.
The aim of the treaty is to promote the development of film, television and videographic co-productions between the two countries, with emphasis on new audiovisual writings and taking account of technological changes that have occurred over time. It will support co-productions between the two countries, whose contribution represents at least 15% of the total production budget. The works will be awarded the nationalities of Luxembourg and Canada.
The visit will continue in Toronto today, where the Luxembourg delegation will meet, among others, Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
