FREDERICTON (GNB) – The provincial government recently renewed its co-operation agreement with the Département de la Vienne, France, for five years.

The agreement was signed during the Acadian Odyssey celebrations in Vienne marking the 250th anniversary of the return of Acadians to Poitou.

“Over the past 40 years, New Brunswick and the Département de la Vienne have forged bonds of friendship and have established trade relations in sectors such as education, training, tourism, culture, the economy and the twinning of municipalities,” said Local Government Minister Glen Savoie, who is also minister responsible for La Francophonie. “For New Brunswick, renewing the agreement means being able to continue this co-operation, which has also served as an example for the creation of the New Brunswick–France Development Strategy, which involves the entire territory of France.”

The agreement will:

  • increase student mobility, offer scholarships to Université de Moncton students participating in exchanges to Poitiers and allow Université de Moncton to host students from Poitiers;
  • promote work placements between the two regions;
  • enhance economic relations between the two regions;
  • facilitate worker recruitment;
  • twin municipalities, such as Shippagan and Loudun or Saint-Louis de Kent and Archigny;
  • promote New Brunswick as a tourist destination;
  • arrange exchanges between youth organizations in the two regions; and
  • promote New Brunswick artists.

While in France, Savoie also participated in activities during Acadian Week in Courseulles-sur-Mer, an event held to honour the Canadian soldiers, which included Acadiens, who took part in the landing of Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

 

14-08-23