Niagara Economic Development is in Mexico this week as part of a trade mission that will seek to strengthen economic ties and encourage foreign direct investment locally.
From Jan. 14 to 18, representatives from Invest Hamilton-Niagara, a partnership between Hamilton and the Niagara Region, will visit Mexico City, Guadalajara and Jalisco where they will meet with industry leaders.
The Mexico initiative follows a recent mission to Colombia. The Mexico trip is intended to explore potential growth opportunities and highlight established business activity between Mexico and Hamilton-Niagara, particularly in light of the yet-to-be-ratified United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement [NAFTA-II].
Mexico is an important market for Canadian business. Trade between Canada and Mexico totals $45.1 billion with Canadian exports amounting to $8.8 billion. Canadian companies have invested $16.8 billion in Mexico, with $1.7 billion flowing in the opposite direction.
Areas of focus for the Niagara Economic Development team include:
- Agri-business [food producers, processors, packagers and distributors]
- ITC [education, software development, information technology companies]
- Manufacturing [emphasis on clean, green, tech-driven manufacturers]
Invest Hamilton-Niagara has contracted BMT Global Consulting, an international business intelligence consulting company based in Mexico City, to help arrange meetings with potential business partners.
A progress report detailing mission outcomes will be presented to council later this year.
For more information on Niagara Economic Development and its initiatives visit www.niagaracanada.com or www.investhamiltonniagara.ca
