Trade Mission to Mexico City
By Geremy Landin
Christopher Landau, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico joined the Trade Mission in Mexico City and welcome his first trade delegation to Mexico from the United States since his appointment on August 1, 2019. Accompanying the Trade Mission, the Texas Secretary of State, Ruth Hughs, “It’s no surprise that Texas is the best state in the nation to do business. As the Lone Star State’s largest trade partner, it is imperative that we continue to have robust trade ties with Mexico. I look forward to participating in this trade mission alongside key leaders in the sectors of energy, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing to build upon our already strong relationship with Mexico, and to create even more economic opportunities for the city of San Antonio and the state of Texas.”
San Antonio Mayor, Ron Nirenberg signed an Economic Development Agreement to expand Bi-National Relationships with Mexico City and provide more free trade opportunities for San Antonio and South Texas. “The opportunities of San Antonio’s economic future will be interconnected to our ability to further develop our relationship with Mexico. These trade missions serve as pivotal moments in fostering partnerships that will benefit our region for generations to come. I look forward to again making the case that America’s business with Mexico starts right here in San Antonio,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
Since it was founded in 1929, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has developed close trade, economic, and cultural relationships with Mexico and has kept growth as part of its core mission and goals. “[The] trade mission demonstrates our resolve in taking our economic relationship to new heights accompanied by some of our leading companies and strategic growth sectors.“ said Diane Sanchez, CEO & President, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Last year alone,U.S. goods and services trade with Mexico totaled an estimated $671.0 billion in 2018. Exports were $299.1 billion; imports were $371.9 billion.
Mexico also represents a number of opportunities for San Antonio’s top educational institutions seeking to globalize their campuses. The participation of UTSA President, Taylor Eighmy; Trinity President, Dr. Danny J. Anderson; TAMU President, Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson and Alamo Colleges District, Chancellor, Dr. Mike Flores on this trade mission signals the strong commitment of both countries to build partnerships that help foster educational and economic cooperation. Economic development is in the forefront of this trade mission with strong representation from San Antonio’s Economic Development community and some of San Antonio’s sector leaders to include the Spurs Sports & Entertainment, CPS, Port San Antonio, San Antonio International Airport, Visit San Antonio as well as some of the top energy, cyber Security and advanced manufacturing sector leaders.
IPSecure, one of San Antonio’s fastest growing and leading companies in the Cyber security sector sees the opportunity to strengthen regional cooperation in cyber security, sustainability and resilience as an important factor in the social and economic development of the region. Jesse Rodriguez, CEO, “There should be no border in Cyber Security between countries, the intent is to secure and protect our regional areas for both countries. A unified agreement is a beginning of securing and strengthening our commercial industry and private sectors utilizing Advanced Cyber Security for both countries as neighbors.” The visit to Mexico City will also provide an opportunity to familiarize delegates with Mexico’s cyber security and physical security and Mexico’s best practices applicable to private and public sector with a scheduled visit to Mexico City’s C5 Comando Center, the central nervous system of what experts rank among the most advanced surveillance and intelligence gathering centers in the world.
