Two days of visits by B.C.'s international trade representatives have come and gone, and Prince George is the better for it, according to hosting organization Initiatives Prince George (IPG) vice president Kathie Scouten.
Cathy Yao, B.C.'s sales lead in South China, helped Prince George twin with the city of Jiangmen which has already sent an inbound trade delegation with a slate of mutual business opportunities now being explored.
She also cited a set of European manufacturers' inquiries made via Rolf Fyne, the province's trade representative based in the U.K.
The provincial government's International Relations and Business Development Branch co-ordinates these investment ambassadors who are spread all over the world but based in Vancouver.
Executive director Marcus Ewert-Johns also attended the Prince George meetings and called it "an excellent example" for the team to see highly marketable opportunities outside the Lower Mainland comfort zone.
"Not only does it allow our overseas reps first hand experience to hear directly from northern economic development agencies and companies from northern B.C., but we also give the same audience one-stop/one-window service to our global network and our team," said Ewert-Johns.
"In business development it is critical to walk the ground in order to better understand the opportunity. By giving the reps a better understanding of the north, its industries and its companies, we are giving them the tools they require to bring the best possible investors or customers to the region."
Scouten said P.G. has been working on connecting with international markets longer than a lot of other regions in B.C. or Western Canada, pointing to pulp and timber sales in China, wood pellet sales into Europe, and other commodity transactions already underway.
"We are on their radar so they came here to learn more firsthand," she said. "This really strengthens our position to have them all here in one room at the same time."
Some of the highlights for the trade team were the development of the Prince George Airport, the operational biomass energy plant at UNBC, the diversity of opportunities beyond natural resources (skilled labour, energy, transportation systems, water/sewage amenities, affordable real estate, etc.), and the level of skill among the region's economic development officers - about a dozen attended from neighbouring communities - to help reel in future deals.
"IPG is one of our strongest partners," Ewert-Johns agreed. "We also work very closely with the Northern Development Initiatives Trust."
Ewert-Johns said there were a lot of pleasant surprises among the visiting trade representatives at how often they had random encounters with people from their respective homelands, driving home the ethnic diversity of the north which is subtly helpful for future business.
"These people are coming to P.G. because of the economic opportunities that exist which is quite exciting."
