On 15 March, Minister-president Bourgeois met with Jean D’Amour, Minister of Maritime Affairs of Québec. During their meeting, they discussed the future of the ports, the so-called “blue economy” and the strengthening of cooperation between Flanders and Québec.
The next day, North Sea Port, the cross-border merger port of Vlissingen, Terneuzen and Ghent, and the Port of Zeebrugge each signed an agreement with the Port of Québec. Now the CETA agreement is in order, the ports want to boost their cargo traffics and strengthen their cooperation.
Flanders and Québec are not only like-minded partners in terms of trade and transport, but also in key areas such as culture, internal affairs, academic exchanges and education.
On 16 March, Minister-president also met Philippe Couillard, the Premier of Québec. Both meetings were part of the official programme of the Belgian State Visit to Canada which was held from 11 to 16 March 2018.