Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
June 3, 2010The following statement was
given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Shawn Skinner,
Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development:
MOUs Leading to Stronger Relationships
Establishing formal trade linkages through Memoranda
of Understanding (MOUs) creates a solid foundation to advance trade
activity. MOUs provide the platform for partners to learn more about one
another; how they can better work together; and how they can
collectively better advance their interests.
In essence, they plant the seed to grow new
opportunities.
As a government, we recognize their significance. We
view MOUs as a valuable means of creating an environment for increased
linkages and to opening trade corridors — not trade solely from a goods
and services perspective but also in knowledge and experience.
Our approach to forming these agreements has targeted
those jurisdictions where we share a common bond.
In particular, our historical ties and relationship
with the Atlantic Ocean led to increasingly valuable and productive
agreements with the State of Rhode Island and Republic of Ireland. The
value of which was highlighted at last week's OceanTech Expo in Rhode
Island.
Based on the spirit and intent of these MOUs,
representatives from this province's ocean technology sector were joined
last week by Ireland's Marine Institute to showcase their capabilities
and excellence to international audiences.
This marks an important step in positioning the
province as the agent for greater ocean-related activities in the North
Atlantic. By building relationships between Newfoundland and Labrador,
Ireland, and New England we are working to advance applied ocean
research projects, business partnerships, and trade development.
Participants in the four day mission included AMEC,
Compusult, Marport, Oceanic Consulting, PanGeo Subsea, the Fisheries and
Marine Institute of Memorial University, and the Marine Institute
Ireland. While in Rhode Island the delegation also marketed their
products and strengthened relationships in a variety of areas including
military, energy, academic research, and boating.
Gary Dinn of PanGeo Subsea presented