Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray Caso met on Monday with mayors and political and business leaders from the CaliBaja region, which includes the cities of Tijuana, Baja California and San Diego, California. The CaliBaja delegation will be in Mexico from March 26-29 as part of the 12th trade mission organized by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The officials discussed trade, border infrastructure, migration, tourism and the important role played by subnational organizations in the bilateral relationship, and they underscored the progress made in integrating the Tijuana - San Diego region and the benefits for communities on both sides of the border.
The meeting was attended by Carlos Sada Solana, Undersecretary for North America; Narciso Campos, Chief of Staff to the Foreign Secretary; Marcela Celorio, Mexico’s Consul General in San Diego; Mauricio Ibarra, Director General for North America; and Rodrigo Reina, Director General of Political Coordination.
The CaliBaja officials were Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastélum and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer; Ron Roberts, Chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and Chairman of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG); SANDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos; Michael Camuñez, President and CEO of ManattJones Global Strategies and SANDAG Advisor; Jerry Sanders, President of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce; Paola Ávila, the Chamber’s Vice President of international business affairs; and Kurt Honold, President of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) in Tijuana.
The Tijuana – San Diego megaregion has a population of 6.5 million and a GDP of USD 230 billion. Mexico and the United States have joint initiatives there that boost academic exchanges, innovation and research, such as the CaliBaja Center for Resilient Materials and Systems for research and development into aerospace and biomedical device projects, among others.