The delegation attended the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce lunch, presentations about the history and opportunities in the Bailiwick, and meetings with senior representatives from the States, Guernsey Ports and with business leaders.
The French side was led by Stephane Perrin-Sarzier, vice-president of Brittany, Emmanuel Drots, head of port development and projects for the Region of Brittany, and Anthony Fossard, head of the Port of Saint Malo, and included representatives from the President of Brittany’s office, the director-general of Ports Saint Malo and Cancale, a team from Brittany Ferries, and a number of private businesses.
All parties remain keen to build on the initial success of the first year of operations for Brittany Ferries into Guernsey, in what Economic Development Committee president Sasha Kazantseva-Miller called ‘a year of renaissance of our connections with France’.
‘We were delighted at the opportunity to host the delegation from Saint Malo and Brittany to showcase our plans to develop further tourism, trade, educational and cultural links,’ she said.
‘Discussions ranged from expanding freight capacity for things like fresh produce and construction materials, and the barriers that would need to be overcome to achieve that, to developing further the cultural ties between the entire Bailiwick of Guernsey and Brittany.
‘The committee is now seeking to explore the potential in other sectors of the economy, working closely with our Chamber of Commerce and industry. We are particularly interested to look into opportunities of importing building materials to help stimulate more affordable home building.
'In hospitality, we are close enough to be able to enjoy fantastic French produce if we can arrange the logistics properly.
‘The opportunities for island businesses are so varied that we are keen to bring islanders and their counterparts in France together to see what may be possible.’
Paul Acheson, sales and marketing director at Brittany Ferries, spoke on the panel at the Chamber seminar. ‘The positive sentiment among those present reflects the strong progress in trade with France and the continued growth of the tourism sector and we are pleased to play our part in supporting this momentum,’ he said.
