December 7, 2017

The Chamber welcomed a delegation of government trade officials from Africa, who met with Director of International Business Affairs, Kenia Zamarripa. Delegation members expressed their interest in understanding the role of the Chamber in promoting cross-border trade in the Cali-Baja region and learned about the importance of developing and strengthening cross-border relations in the public and private sector.

Zamarripa provided an overview of the Chamber’s structure, membership, committees, and objectives for 2018. Other topics included the Chamber’s advocacy efforts on a modernized NAFTA, a comprehensive immigration reform, and a secure but efficient border infrastructure which facilitates cross border commerce. The delegation inquired about the region’s economy and workforce, and how the Chamber managed to develop and strengthen relationships with Mexican officials, chambers, and similar organizations in order to work together towards a common objectives. Additionally, Zamarripa provided insight on what NAFTA has meant for the binational region’s economy, an overview of the status of negotiations, and shared a recap on what the Chamber learned after a presentation from Guillermo Malpica Soto, Head of the Trade and NAFTA office at the Ministry of Economy in Washington, D.C. the previous day.

The African delegation members included trade officers from Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Republic of Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.