Ambassador Ishikawa’s Official Visit to Manitoba
Ambassador Ishikawa made an official visit to the Province of Manitoba from September 24th to 26th. He made courtesy calls on a number of dignitaries including: The Honourable Greg Selinger, Premier of Manitoba; The Honourable Daryl Reid, Speaker of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly; The Honourable Dave Chomiak, Minister of Innovation, Energy and Mines; The Honourable Ron Kostyshyn, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. Ambassador Ishikawa also met and exchanged views with people from local companies which have relations with Japan. Mr. Ken Zaifman, Honorary Consul General of Japan at Winnipeg accompanied the Ambassador during his visit.
While in Manitoba, Ambassador Ishikawa expressed Japan’s sincere gratitude for the tremendous support offered by Canadians in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The Ambassador was also pleased to exchange ideas with various meetings with dignitaries, and acknowledged the importance of Manitoba’s agricultural products in the Japanese food supply as well as the need to expand cooperation in scientific technology in the area of climate change issues between Japanese companies and the Province of Manitoba, which is a leading province in addressing this issue.
Ambassador Ishikawa visited a major grain farm (which has participated in a home stay program for Japanese high school students), a grain elevator, and the Manitoba Food Development Centre, in relation to the bilateral agricultural trade between Japan and Manitoba. He also had a test ride on an all-electric bus equipped with Japanese storage batteries, a product of the bilateral cooperation between Japanese firms and the Province of Manitoba on climate change issues.
The Ambassador met with Japanese residents in Manitoba and learned about their life in their local communities including a Japanese club’s activities and a charity event held after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Throughout his official visit, Ambassador Ishikawa acknowledged of the importance of further strengthening relations between Japan and the Province of Manitoba, a province with strengths in agriculture and climate change issues.
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