The port of Antwerp will be receiving a delegation from the port of Montreal from Wednesday 11th to Friday 13th September. The aim of the visit is a concrete implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding drawn up by the two ports in March of this year, the Antwerp Port Authority said in a news release.
For North America, the port of Antwerp is clearly the Gateway to Europe. Every year, 20 million tons of goods are shipped between the US and Antwerp. To this Canada adds a whopping 4.9 million tons. Both areas account for 13.5 percent of the total Antwerp maritime traffic.
The port of Antwerp and the port of Montreal also have many common features. Indeed, they are both major container ports and are both located inland. Antwerp owes its prosperity to the Scheldt River and Montreal to the Saint Lawrence River.
Through the exchange of best practices the ports of Antwerp and Montreal wish to optimize their activities. During the first visit of the delegation from the port of Montreal since the signing in March, the focus will mainly be on the exchange of information on ‘marketing and commercial relationships’ and ‘communication, PR and society’, even though other topics will also be addressed. During the three-day stay in the port of Antwerp the delegation from Montreal will also visit several terminals.
On Thursday 12th September the delegation will be invited to attend a network reception at which Antwerp companies and members of the Canadian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce will be present. On the occasion of this visit the port of Antwerp will also have the honor to meet the new Canadian Ambassador Denis Robert.