Officials from the City of Rochester and five cities in Quebec have signed an agreement pledging economic cooperation.
Mayor Lovely Warren, and mayors from cities in Quebec signed the agreement in downtown Rochester Friday as part of an effort to foster economic development and create jobs. Warren notes that New York State already does about $8 billion in trade with Quebec, and this is an effort to further Rochester's involvement in that relationship.
Warren and the officials from the Canadian cities note that they are all facing similar challenges in terms of seeing large industries leave and having to diversify their economies.
“When you have industry decline you look to your neighboring cities and countries to see if there’s ways in which you can build partnerships, and that’s exactly what we’re doing here today.”
The Mayor of Gatineau, a city in Western Quebec, MaximePedneaud-Jobin, says this agreement takes advantage of these similarities.
“We’re natural partners, we are neighbors, and as of today we are also in a relationship that we want to last for a long time. It’s a first economic mission by Quebec cities anywhere in the world, it’s a real first.”
The Quebec officials say they are particularly interested in seeing if there are opportunities involving high technology, such as photonics, or development of drones, that Rochester and the Canadian cities could work on developing together.
