U .S.-Mexico Partnership for Prosperity Celebrates Successes

June 28, 2004, Guadalajara, Mexico – Senior U.S. and Mexican officials and corporate executives are celebrating the ongoing successes of the U.S. - Mexico Partnership for Prosperity as well as planning to announce several new initiatives to promote economic development in Mexico during a two-day entrepreneurial workshop. More than 650 U.S. and Mexican entrepreneurs and government officials are meeting at the Hilton Hotel to discuss North American competitiveness and to explore business opportunities in housing, finance, rural development, information technology and infrastructure.

The United States and Mexico will announce the winners of the inaugural Partnership for Prosperity Good Partner Award (GPA) at the Award Ceremony and Gala on June 28. GPA recognizes the role of the private sector in advancing social and economic development in Mexico.

Major Accomplishments of the U.S. – Mexico Partnership for Prosperity

• USAID, working closely with the Government of Mexico, USDA and its vast partner network of land grant universities, requested proposals for up to six new Mexico-U.S. educational partnerships through the next round of the Training, Internships, Exchanges, and Scholarships (TIES) university partnership program. The new partnerships will focus on rural economic growth.
  
• Last year, an historic agreement was concluded that would enable the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to offer additional programs to foster investment in Mexico. The Mexican Senate approved the agreement last April. Housing, water, education, and municipal infrastructure have been identified as priority areas.
  
• Through a cooperative effort by BANOBRAS, USAID, and U.S. financial advisory firm Evensen Dodge, the states of Michoacan, Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Veracruz, Chihuahua, Morelos, the Federal District, and the cities of Aguascalientes, Cancun, and Tlanepantla, have issued debt certificates to finance key infrastructure needs.
  
• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will continue the development of, and training for, new Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in Mexico. SBA is also working with NAFIN in the development of a venture capital program, and with Economic Secretariat in the adaptation of SBA programs to encourage the development and growth of Mexico’s small business enterprises.
  
• Over the past year, the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) provided grant and project development funding for 12 priority activities in Mexico, ranging in scope from airport modernization to venture capital industry development, water/waste systems, intelligent transportation networks and housing finance. Through P4P, USTDA continues promoting Mexico’s infrastructure, transportation, and financial service sectors through feasibility studies and technical assistance grants.
  
• The National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) concluded cooperation agreements with U.S. academic institutions and research centers to grant scholarships to Mexican students, promote faculty interchange, and collaborate in joint research programs.

P4P Builds for the future:

• The U.S. and Mexican governments and private sector will exchange ideas and review lessons learned regarding how to effectively access purchasing decision-makers in discussions with some of the largest U.S. and Mexican manufacturers. Experts will highlight the importance to both economies of a competitive North American manufacturing base and outline best quality, technology, cost, financing and marketing practices.
  
• To increase competition in remittance services, private financial institutions have expanded remittance services over the last year and U.S. financial agencies continue their focus on promoting financial literacy to increase access to and awareness of remittance services. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s Money Smart program has provided financial training to over 35,000 Mexican immigrants in the United States.
  
• The Bank of Mexico (BANXICO) and the U.S. Federal Reserve System commenced one-way operations last year of the TEFI/ Fed Automated Clearing House (ACH) International Mexico Service. This system provides for low-cost government and commercial cross-border payments through improving the financial interconnection of both countries supporting Mexico’s financial infrastructure. The program is expected to be fully operational in 2005, allowing financial institutions to carry out cross-border transactions in both directions.
  
• The P4P identified communications and information technology as vital to North American competitiveness. Discussion at the workshop will target mobile technologies, portal services, enterprise application integration to tie technologies together, and RFID (radio frequency identification) implementation for use in inventory control.

The unique public-private Partnership for Prosperity initiative was launched by U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox in September 2001 to target economic development in the areas of Mexico which generate the most emigrants based on the premise that no Mexican should feel compelled to leave his home for lack of economic opportunity.

More information is available at the Partnership website: www.p4pworks.org