ATLANTA (February 2, 2004) -- GCIV will host two distinguished visitors from Canada, who are traveling to the United States to learn more about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the possibility of its extension to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The delegates -- a leader from the Canadian Ministry of Enterprise and a political reporter from Quebec's Le Soleil Daily newspaper, will be in Atlanta February 7-11 under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program.

The United States and Canada share one of the largest bilateral trade relationships in the world, which affects the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of citizens in both countries. As the hemisphere and the world continue to liberalize trade, our distinguish visitors hope to benefit from more in-depth understanding of each other and the potential positive impact of free trade on economic competitiveness.

While in Atlanta, our Canadian guests will meet with representatives of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade, and Tourism to understand its role in promoting trade in the region. They will also meet with representatives of Hemisphere, Inc. and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce to learn about the effort to obtain the FTAA Secretariat in Atlanta. They will then visit the Institute of International Business at Georgia State University to gain an academic view of liberalizing trade. Furthermore, they will meet with the Sierra Club and other "Fair Trade" organizations to get a balanced view of trade issues. Finally, they will discuss international trade news coverage with the Atlanta & the World staff at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

About GCIV

GCIV is a community-based nonprofit organization founded in 1962 to promote relationships between Georgians and citizens of other nations. A member of the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV), GCIV arranges professional programs, cultural orientations and home hospitality for hundreds of distinguished international leaders who travel to Georgia every year as part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor and Community Connections programs.