History of the CICC |
The CICC has a rich 50-year history of promoting business, investment and trade between Canada and Israel. The CICC was originally incorporated in the late 1970s by Canadian community leaders that sought to promote greater ties between business communities in Canada and Israel by encouraging creative innovation between the two countries. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the CICC served as a platform to connect Canadian and Israeli businesses, government agencies and other institutions. It also served as an introductory facilitator between Canadian and Israeli businesspeople in the Jewish community and beyond, a role which the CICC continues to serve to this day. The CICC played a significant part in the creation of the Canada–Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA), which was signed in 1996 and enhanced in 2002, 2003 and 2015 with our support. The CIFTA was Canada’s first free trade agreement outside of the Western Hemisphere and the CICC is proud of its role in this signature achievement in Canada-Israel relations. Today, the CICC continues to monitor and encourage further engagement to increase investment and trade between Israel and Canada across new fields of activity, products and services, with a particular focus on technology sectors. |