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Atlanta Seen as a Municipal Leader in the Americas

November 2005 – Georgia’s participation in a forum during the recent Summit of the Americas that focused on the role of cities in hemispheric economic development positioned Atlanta as a municipal leader in the Americas, said Alex Mejia, program director of CIFAL Atlanta.

PHOTO: Georgia representatives to the recent Summit of the Americas held in Mar de Plata, Argentina, are pictured with officials from the summit.
Georgia representatives to the recent Summit of the Americas held in Mar de Plata, Argentina, are pictured with officials from the summit.
The Nov. 3 forum in Mar de Plata, Argentina, focused on cities’ roles in combating poverty and unemployment in the hemisphere through the development of economic opportunity.

“This opened many doors for Atlanta and showed mayors, legislators and other officials from around the hemisphere that they will find support in Atlanta,” Mr. Mejia told GlobalAtlanta.

“It was even better than we thought because more countries participated than we expected,” he added, saying that more than 100 officials from 17 countries were in attendance.

The Georgia delegation, including Craig Lesser, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development; Jose Ignacio Gonzalez, executive director of Hemisphere Inc. and trustee of CIFAL Atlanta; Robert Kennedy, director of public relations and governmental affairs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and others, worked with representatives from cities throughout the hemisphere in devising possible strategies for generating jobs in urban areas.

“Cities can facilitate the process and dialogue of development. We must be proactive in facilitating investment, job creation and increasing bilateral trade,” Mr. Mejia said. “Georgia companies must find opportunities to invest in Latin America, and they must be encouraged to invest here. It goes both ways,” he added.

During the event, the Atlanta delegation organized a luncheon that included U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Argentine Vice President Daniel Scioli. This was an important event because the Atlanta delegation was able to discuss with these leaders ways to leverage the benefits of the Central American Free Trade Agreement and the pending Andean Free Trade Agreement, Mr. Mejia said.

The forum was organized by CIFAL Atlanta, the OAS and the Latin American Federation of Cities. It was the first time since the Summit of the Americas began in 1994 that municipalities were included in the talks that bring together leaders from the hemisphere to discuss issues of common concern.

Participants in the municipalities forum included Daniel Katz, the mayor of Mar de Plata; Paco Moncayo, the mayor of Quito, Ecuador, and president of the World Federation of Cities; and Jorge Taiana, Argentina’s secretary of foreign relations.

The Forum of Local Authorities is to be part of all future Summits of the Americas.

Visit www.cifalatlanta.org or contact CIFAL Atlanta at (404) 962-4834. Visit www.flacma.org for information about the forum (in Spanish). Go to www.ivcumbreamericas.gov.ar for information about the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Argentina or www.summit-americas.org for general information about the summits.

Source: Leigh Miller for GlobalAtlanta