The Port of Québec is proud to confirm that its CEO Olga Farman has been elected president of the International Association Cities & Ports (AIVP). The appointment was made official during the 21st AIVP World Conference Cities & Ports, which began yesterday in Dunkirk, France.
It testifies to the continued leadership of the Port of Québec and its senior management in fostering relationships between ports, cities, and citizens, as well as in decarbonization, climate change adaptation, and the energy transition—all priorities for AIVP. Farman will be succeeding Édouard Philippe, former Prime Minister of France (2017–2020), mayor of Le Havre.
Since 1988, AIVP has been working to improve the relationship between cities and ports, with citizens at the heart of its efforts. It now has nearly 200 members across 45 countries and 5 continents. The Port of Québec has been active in the organization for several years; in January, AIVP announced that it would be opening its North American office in Québec City.
“The Port of Québec believes that it is not only possible, but necessary, to combine economic performance, innovation, and citizen satisfaction,” said Olga Farman. “In fact, those values are central to the City-Port Vision we unveiled with the City of Québec in early 2026, and they inform our involvement with AIVP. This new term will be an opportunity to showcase Québec City’s leadership on the world stage, but also—and above all—to continue learning from our partners’ best practices and drawing inspiration from them here at home.”
The AIVP World Conference in Dunkirk will run until November 6. Ms. Farman will be participating in a panel discussion on Perspectives for a Robust City-Port Relationship alongside Inés Rey Garcia, mayor of A Coruña; Johan Klaps, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Vice Mayor of Antwerp; and Jean-Frédéric Laurent, general delegate of the Union of French Ports, all of whom have also been appointed new members of the AIVP Executive Board alongside Ms. Farman.
Trade mission to Belgium
Ms. Farman took advantage of the trip to Europe to meet with business partners as part of a mission to North Sea Port, a 60-km cross-border port area stretching from Vlissingen on the North Sea and Terneuzen in the Netherlands to Ghent, 32 km inland in Belgium. This meeting followed on the heels of the collaboration agreement ratified last year between the port authorities of Montreal, Québec City, Saguenay, Sept-Îles, and Trois-Rivières and the North Sea Port, aimed at strengthening trade between the Saguenay-St. Lawrence maritime corridor and the North Sea corridor.
“The war in Ukraine has profoundly disrupted numerous supply chains and diverted certain cargoes that have normally gone to Belgium, so many Flemish producers are looking for new markets. Québec City is emerging as a natural and strategic ally for supporting that diversification, said Olga Farman.
(Photo from Port of Quebec)