The Barrie Chamber of Commerce hosted the Israel Consul General on Monday afternoon for an information session on trade between the Middle Eastern nation and Canada.
The chamber office at 121 Commerce Park Dr. was full of dignitaries from the Simcoe County region who were on hand to meet with Israel Consul General Galit Baram as she spoke of Israeli business, trade opportunities between the two countries and to help prepare chamber members for their trade delegation to Israel in 2019.
The meeting started at 1:30 p.m. and saw Baram sit and chat with chamber executive director Richard Brooks as a room full of interested local business people listened and took notes.
Baram told BarrieToday the purpose of the visit was to discuss business, but also talk about culture.
“The intention was to conduct a series of meetings and to look for opportunities to bring Canada and Israel closer together,” said Baram. “I am covering Ontario and western Canada and we are very active on the provincial level. We support an academic co-operation, economic co-operation and cultural exchange between Israel and Canada.”
While most may think that Israel and Canada wouldn’t have a lot in common to talk about, Baram disagrees.
“When it comes to similarities between Canada and Israel, what I do recognize is the seriousness on both sides, the dedication and mutual interest in both countries in options that exist between us,” said Baram. “There are many similarities when it comes to values and culture as well. The fact is the two societies are very diverse and very multi-cultural; this, of course, helps in bridging gaps between the two countries.”
Though she did discuss many facts and figures about trade relations and Middle Eastern cultural relations, Baram also took time to joke about her visit to the country and its beauty.
“I feel a little embarrassed to talk about the River Jordan when I am here in Canada,” said Baram. “I have a chance to see many of your lakes and you do have so many, and when you compare the River Jordan to your lakes, it makes it look like a bit of a creek.
"Nature has been very good to your country.”
Brooks was happy to have Baram in town and says that Barrie is becoming a city that draws quite an international interest from countries looking to develop trade within Canada.
“We had an Italian and Turkish delegation here last week alone looking to expand their operations into Barrie and now with the Israel contingent here it is very promising for trade and business development within the city,” said Brooks. “Countries see it as a jumping off point to greater markets like Toronto or in the U.S.
"We have already set up here at the chamber of commerce a robust staff who are looking after facilitating these kinds of connections and international companies, so we are very prepared to continue to be a place for the global community to meet and discuss business," Brooks added.
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman was proud to have his city playing an important part on the international trade stage, particularly with a country such as Israel which is big on technology.
The mayor was also thinking positive despite the talk Monday of U.S. President Donald Trump replacing NAFTA with a deal with Mexico that would likely not involve Canada.
“Israel’s economy is a remarkable success story on a bunch of levels, but especially in tech,” said Lehman. “As we know, Barrie’s burgeoning tech sector in digital content and in big data because of the number of large data centres that we have here, this is an area of growing importance for Barrie and I think Galit Baram’s presence here and interest in the local business community probably reflects that.
"I think the concern about NAFTA has lead to a very healthy thing which is for Canadian companies to say where else can we do business and how can we make sure we have a variety of markets to deal with," Lehman added. "You hear a new Trump and NAFTA report every day and we don’t know where it will end, but this is a defensive strategy and frankly a very good opportunity.”
