February 13, 2020

With a $255 billion economy, the Cali-Baja Mega-Region represents a tremendous growth opportunity for industries including manufacturing, biotech, agriculture, clean tech, and more. Through the Chamber’s International Business Affairs Forums, business leaders gain the essential knowledge and resources needed to thrive within the binational marketplace. Forum attendees have the opportunity to build and strengthen new relationships, exchange ideas, and discuss policies that are relevant to the Cali-Baja business community.

Our January forum featured a panel of experts from throughout the health care field: SIMNSA Health Plan, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, the Baja Health Cluster, and Baja’s Secretariat of Health—the latter of which kicked off the event with a conversation about binational healthcare and medical tourism in our region. Attendees learned about cross-border partnerships that keep our communities healthy and thriving.

Rady Children’s Hospital and SIMNSA Health Plan shared insight on how they serve our binational region and thousands of visitors seeking medical assistance each year. The Baja Health Cluster highlighted that many health practitioners in Baja were certified in the U.S. and are recognized world leaders in their specialties, many times serving in hospitals on both sides of the border. Binational health care plans, highly-qualified practitioners, and state-of-the-art hospitals in our region not only provide quality health care to our cross-border community, but certainly have turned medical tourism into a huge economic engine for Cali-Baja.

Please save the dates for this year’s International Business Affairs Forums:

• Thursday, April 16, in San Diego
• Thursday, May 28
• Thursday, July 23
• Thursday, September 17
• Thursday, November 9

Meetings are held at the San Diego Regional Chamber office and in Tijuana and take place from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

February 13, 2020

As we continue our region’s work to promote trade, reduce congestion at our ports of entry, and reduce transboundary pollution, we invite you to join our delegation trip to Mexico City and make a lasting impact.

The 15^th Annual Binational Delegation to Mexico City will take place from March 22 to 25 at the Four Seasons Hotel where our delegates receive a discounted rate.

This year, delegates are treated to an exclusive reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau. International policy priorities for this year’s delegation include: border infrastructure; transboundary pollution impacting the Tijuana River Valley; immigration and workforce integration; and trade and economic opportunities.

For an idea of what the trip entails, please click here for a recap of the 2019 trip and see what can be accomplished when we work together with a strong, unified binational voice. Video recaps are also available here: Welcome Reception; Day 1; Day 2; Day 3.

The Chamber looks forward to continued collaboration with the Mexican government to further strengthen the U.S.-Mexico relationship and advocate for projects and policies that will boost our economies and benefit our binational community.

For event details and to register, please visit our website. Registration pricing goes up March 12.

February 13, 2020

The Mexican Consulate in San Diego invites you to join the Spanish Learning Experience 2020. The program takes place from July 2 to July 31, 2020 in Ensenada (Mexico) and is hosted by Baja California’s State University (UABC). This learning experience is designed to get students to an A1-A2 Spanish level in four weeks through a cultural immersion course. In addition, participants will be awarded 3 credits upon completion of the 100 hour training.

For more information, please contact Adalberto Avelar at aavelar@uabc.edu.mx. Please submit your application by May 5, 2020 here.

February 13, 2020

On January 28, The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) convened the first public meeting of the Binational Core Group (BCG) at Tijuana’s City Hall. The BCG is comprised of representatives from federal, state, and local government, nongovernmental organizations, and binational private sector stakeholders. In accordance with Minute 320, the group’s purpose is to identify binational cooperation opportunities to address transboundary issues in the Tijuana River Basin.

At the meeting, members of the public gave their input on the current levels of environmental degradation and their impacts on quality of life. Community members discussed concerns about marine pollution levels, the influence of coastal currents on both sides of the border, wastewater treatment, the pollution impact on the Tijuana River Estuary and the resulting beach closures. Members of the public also urged the BCG to engage local stakeholder groups in further discussions.

The IBWC’s technical work groups on Water Quality, Solid Waste, and Sediment each presented a report which mentioned the Tijuana River Diversion Study prepared by the North American Development Bank. It also included preliminary results from a binational water quality study of canyon sites and the Tijuana River—the final report of which will be available this March. This was followed by an update of the sediment basins’ feasibility study which is slated to be completed in June. The BCG plans to reconvene the three technical work groups along with binational stakeholders to provide technical assistance.

IBWC Commissioners also announced the creation of a rapid response team to take immediate action on sanitation emergencies and conduct a risk analysis of existing infrastructure.