Americas Competitiveness Forum Underway This Week

There are quite a few dignitaries in Atlanta this week, taking part in the Americas Competitiveness Forum. The conference is organized by the US Department of Commerce, the International Trade Administration, the City of Atlanta, and CIFAL Atlanta.

Notable speakers include…

• Carlos Gutierrez, US Secretary of Commerce
• Shirley Franklin, Mayor of Atlanta
• Alvaro Colom Caballeros, President of Guatemala
• Elias Antonio Saca Gonzalez, President of El Salvador
• Alvaro Uribe Velez, President of Colombia
• Jaime Morales Carazo, President of Nicaragua
• Eduardo Castro Wright, President & CEO, Wal-Mart
• Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia

There are many others from both the public and private sectors. Chile has four speakers:

• Hugo Lavados, the Chilean Minister of Economy, speaks at the closing ceremony this afternoon.
• Cristina Orellana, General Manager from Chile’s Servicio de Cooperacion Tecnica, speaks today on enterprise trade capacity building
• Orlando Jimenez, Head of the Innovation Division from Chile’s Ministry of Economy, speaks today on regional market opportunities
• Jorge Ale Yarad, General Manager from Aguas Santiago Poniente, spoke yesterday about securing a sustainable water supply

Several Chilean companies are also in town, and are staying in the Atlanta Hyatt Regency — the same hotel hosting the competitiveness forum. These companies are here as part of a trade mission to Atlanta and Miami. During their stay, they’ll be touring Georgia Tech, hearing presentations from ATDC companies, meeting with potential partners, and participating in Wednesday’s “Building Bridges” seminar at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (where I’m scheduled to be a speaker).