TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan will open a representative office in the Canadian city of Montreal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday (Dec. 20).

Taiwan already operated “Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices” in the capital Ottawa, the largest city Toronto, and in the west coast city of Vancouver, but Montreal is the country’s second-largest city and the most populous one in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec, which houses a quarter of the country’s population, MOFA said in a statement.

The ministry described the city as a center of technology, offering opportunities for cooperation in fields including electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. Montreal was also the seat of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an organization that Taiwan has been trying to join for several years.

The Canadian government recently stated its intention to intensify relations with the Indo-Pacific region, mentioning Taiwan as a focus for economic, people-to-people, and scientific cooperation, MOFA said.

Preparations are still underway for the Montreal office, but MOFA has not named a target date for its opening nor the name of a representative.