SASKATCHEWAN (CBC) - In an effort to expand its resource markets, Saskatchewan has joined an international organization dedicated to improving the economy of the Pacific Northwest region.

The group includes the Yukon, Alberta, B.C, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Saskatchewan Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Bill Boyd said that membership in the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region will provide more markets for the province's resources, such as uranium.

"We see a region that has 20 million people [and] some $700 billion of economic activity," he told reporters on Monday in Vancouver, where the group is meeting this week.

"That's a very important market to Saskatchewan and we want to have as much access as we possibly can."

The province hopes the new ties will help it attract much-needed workers, Boyd said.

The Pacific Northwest organization was established in 1991 to improve economic competitiveness and influence federal decision-makers in Ottawa and Washington, D.C.

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