The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican Consulate in San Diego are set to sign a co-authored memorandum to strengthen their binational partnership tomorrow.
This is the first time that a Memorandum of Understanding has been formalized, although the chamber does make an annual delegation trip to Mexico City. Much of the collaboration between the two has involved addressing border efficiency, economic development and transboundary pollution, according to the Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President of International and Public Affairs Kenia Zamarripa.
She said that through advocacy and transport collaboration, they were able to secure funding for infrastructure and rehabilitate the wastewater treatment plan.
“There’s other projects on that list, and we’ll continue to work with Mexico and make sure that through local, state and federal administrations, that all of these projects move forward and that we secure additional funding for operation and maintenance,” Zamarripa said.
The memorandum itself delves into ongoing communication to welcome delegations and business stakeholders into the Cali-Baja region. When either Mexico or San Diego succeeds in attracting investment from other countries, Zamarripa said, economic spillover “organically” occurs, with both sides benefiting from business opportunities.
“We’re selling this region together as a block, and that relies heavily on our connectivity,” Zamarripa said.
The Chamber and Consulate both are also continuing to promote accurate information and conduct outreach together about legal paths to citizenship and visa opportunities, given that much of the region relies on an immigrant workforce.
The signing of the memorandum Wednesday will include remarks from Ambassador Alicia Kerber Palma, the Consul General of Mexico in San Diego as well as Chamber President and chief executive officer Chris Cate.
“(The memorandum) comes at the right time for us to reaffirm that we are committed to the binational region and working with Mexico and tackling all of these shared priorities and challenges,” Zamarripa said.
