Province Building International Partnerships

Nova Scotia is demonstrating its expertise in solid waste management, while further developing important international trade partnerships.

The province is hosting a delegation from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, this week, including officials from Bee'ah, the state's environmental agency.

"I am pleased to welcome members of the delegation to Nova Scotia," said Premier Darrell Dexter. "Our two regions have already collaborated on significant educational and export opportunities. This most recent visit further builds on the strong relationship Nova Scotia has with the United Arab Emirates."

The delegation will visit universities, the Nova Scotia Community College, municipalities and waste management companies to learn more about the province's advanced solid waste technology and programs.

Our Path Forward, the province's solid waste resource management strategy, launched in 2011, will build on successes and help Nova Scotia reach its goal of 300 kilograms of solid waste per person per year by 2015.

"Nova Scotia has a reputation as a leader in putting our solid waste resources to good use rather than disposing of them," said Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau. "We're excited to share our knowledge and introduce the delegation to innovative companies based here in the province."

Economic and Rural Development and Tourism Minister Percy Paris noted that this is also a good opportunity to introduce the delegation to companies based in the province.

"In Nova Scotia, we recognize the importance of creating new business relationships with international partners," said Mr. Paris. "Our international commerce strategy will be rolled out this year to help government better support the needs of our businesses engaged in international economic activities, while increasing our global competitiveness for the two-way flow of trade, investment, skills, ideas and innovation."

"Nova Scotia has tremendous capacity to export services," said Ava Czapalay, president and CEO of EduNova and a board member of Waste Resource Management International. "We have found that by working together, our education and training organizations have an even more compelling story to share with the world. The visit by Bee'ah officials is proof that a collaborative approach to developing service exports is working."

For more information on Nova Scotia's solid waste resource management strategy, visit www.gov.ns.ca/nse/waste/swrmstrategy.asp.

For information on international commerce, visit www.gov.ns.ca/econ/ic/ .