April 24, 2014
In 2014, the San Diego Chamber led a high-level, bi-national delegation to Mexico City with more than 70 delegates including: California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom; San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer; Tijuana Mayor Dr. Jorge Astiazaran; San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox’ San Diego City Council President Todd Gloria; Imperial Beach Mayor Jim Janney; Mariano Escobedo, Office of Baja California Governor Francisco Vega; Mexico Consul General Remedios Gomez Arnau; US Consul General Andrew Erickson; and San Diego business leaders from varying industries including high tech, education, health care, maritime, energy, financial & legal firms, real estate, and transportation companies.
The trip included several high-level meetings with government officials in Mexico, including: Dr. Sergio Alcocer, Undersecretary for North American Affairs at the Secretariat of Foreign Relations; U.S. Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne; Mexico’s Senate’s Commission on Border Issues; Queretaro Governor Jose Eduardo Calzada Rovirosa.
Other highlights from the trip included a tour of Bombardier plant in Queretaro; dinner with Luis de la Calle, former Undersecretary of International Business Negotiations at the Ministry of Economy in Mexico; and a visit to National Autonomous University of Mexico UNAM and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Over the course of the trip the delegation successfully advocated for the issues that are so important to the Cali-Baja mega region and pinpointed specific areas for collaboration, including, enhancing trade and commerce, development of educational exchange programs, promoting tourism, and transportation and infrastructure projects in the border region.
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