- The new passport office will provide express service for emergency passports
- The office will be able to assist 350,000 people a year
- The secretary also inaugurated the Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon Higher Education and Research Center in Tijuana
Today, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard inaugurated a new passport office at the Tijuana Airport in Baja California. He was accompanied by Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda.
The new office will provide express services to individuals who need to replace their passports. It will be able to assist over 350,000 people a year, or 1,000 people per day, who will be able to get emergency passports at the airport in less than one hour.
In his remarks, the Foreign Secretary said that tie purpose of the new office is to help travelers, at the president's request. “If someone has a problem with their passport, they can get one here; that's why it's called express. This hardly exists anywhere else in the world […] it's even faster than the fastest offices outside of the airports,” he said.
Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda said that the office "is another example of the extraordinary projects that we can achieve when we help each other out and work as a team…In our Tijuana, which by the way is the most dynamic and busy border in the world, the Foreign Ministry is up to the challenge of meeting the needs and requirements of a city with these very special characteristics," she said.
The office has a lactation room, a children's play area and an accessible area for people with disabilities. The office was completed with an investment of more than 40 million pesos from the Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (Pacific Airport Group).
With this office, Baja California is now the second state to have three passport offices, after Mexico City.
Meeting with Baja California business executives
During his visit, the foreign secretary and governor met with business executives from the National Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry (INDEX). They also met with Hyundai executives to discuss investment possibilities in Mexico.
Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said that the North American Leaders' Summit will take place in January and that the Government of Mexico will present proposals to increase trade and investment. He said that the government and private sector must work together to attract more investments over the coming years.
Inauguration of the Tijuana Higher Education and Research Center
While in Baja California, the secretary also inaugurated the Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon Center for Higher Education and Research in Tijuana for law studies.
Foreign Secretary Ebrard said, "It is a privilege, an honor and, above all, a commitment, because when the name of any of us is put on a wall, it is obviously a great honor, but also a great commitment [...] to help and support you in everything necessary for your success, so that these young people do very well.”
"At the Foreign Ministry, we have agreements around the world, which we are going to bring here: scholarships and possibilities, to help you, support you, that is what we will do," he said.
