Mexican delegation tours South Texas economic growth opportunities

PHARR, Texas ( Border Report ) – A group of economic investors representing several southern Mexican states have been touring the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas seeking economic and binational trade opportunities for both regions.

Representatives from the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE Sur) arrived Thursday and are seeking ways to promote binational trade between the Mexican states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, Tabasco, Oaxaca and Veracruz and the South Texas border region.

They have spent the past two days meeting with local leaders and learning trade, tech and border growth initiatives they can partner with here, officials say.

On Thursday, they met with McAllen’s Chamber of Commerce and members of McAllen’s City Council, McAllen’s assistant city manager and representatives of the McAllen International Airport and the McAllen Economic Development Corporation.

They also met Thursday with Pharr Mayor Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez, as well as with the president and CEO of the Pharr Economic Development Corporation for this border town just east of McAllen.

They discussed the Pharr Global Business Hub, expansion of the Pharr International Bridge and its position as the No. 1 bridge for importation of fruits and vegetables from Mexico into the United States.

On Friday, representatives were moving for talks east in Cameron County in the border town of Brownsville, Texas, across from Matamoros, Mexico.

They also were meeting with leaders for workforce and economic development at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, as well as with Brownsville Mayor John Cowen and Judith Arrieta Munguía, the consulate of Mexico in Brownsville.

Among trade topics they were discussing include migratory, legal and financial challenges for these southern Mexican states to do business in the United States.

Officials say these talks — dubbed “Misión de Negocios Brownsville-McAllen-Pharr” — will help to provide insight on complex cross-border commerce, as well as foster relationships and understanding for future growth and expansion opportunities north of the border.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

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