EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Two former North American leaders will be in El Paso next month to discuss how the region can benefit from rising U.S.-China tensions.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper are the featured guests at the 2022 U.S.-Mexico Border Summit sponsored by the Borderplex Alliance.
The summit is on Feb. 24 at the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park, 106 W. Mills Ave., with a luncheon at the Autograph Collection of the Hotel Paso del Norte. The panelists will discuss why bringing direct investment from across the Pacific could be a game changer for border businesses and plan to get into the nuts and bolts of how Fortune 500 companies chose which cities they want to expand operations to.
The summit takes place as supply issues and the semi-conductor chip shortage hound businesses from Detroit’s gigantic automakers to Main Street retail stores. The Borderplex Alliance and other trade organizations on both sides of the border are promoting the region’s capability to become the home of new chip makers and a place where off-shore manufacturers can relocate to avoid political and logistical upheaval.
Harper was Canada’s prime minister from 2006 to 2015 and was the driving force behind expanded commercial relations with Europe and India, free trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea, and was a staunch ally of the International Monetary Fund, which promotes stability and economic growth in developing countries.
Fox in 2000 became the first candidate from an opposition party to be elected President of Mexico since 1929. The former Coca-Cola executive promoted stability in Mexico’s institution and favored trade. His legacy north of the border was to improve relations with expatriates, creating the Institute for Mexicans Abroad. IME has become a sounding board for Mexican communities to influence Mexican policy toward the United States.
The Borderplex Alliance says it will announce further panels and panelists as February 24 comes closer. Tickets for the event can be purchased through Eventbrite.