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SAN FRANCISCO - Fulfilling the commitments made by President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox during their summit in September, 2001, the US and Mexico will jointly sponsor the "Partnership for Prosperity" Entrepreneurial Workshop in San Francisco, June 9-10.

The workshop will encourage US and Mexican private-sector involvement in Mexico's economic future. US Commerce Secretary Don Evans and his Mexican counterpart, Secretary of the Economy Fernando Canales, will host the conference, which will promote contact between the US and Mexican business communities.

Investors and business owners from both countries will meet with university leaders, leading non-governmental organizations and government experts to discuss investment and financing opportunities in Mexico. There will also be an opportunity for networking among the Mexican and US private-sector participants. Business sectors represented will include information and environmental technology, housing finance and construction, agribusiness and food processing, infrastructure, and the automotive industry.

"As friends and neighbors, the United States and Mexico share common values and enjoy a high level of trust and respect," said Evans, commenting on the upcoming meeting. "President Bush and President Fox have made it a priority to build on that partnership to achieve increased prosperity, greater economic cooperation, higher living standards, and a higher level of security for both societies."

The Partnership for Prosperity " initiative, launched by Presidents Bush and Fox in September, 2001, "represents a strategic alliance between Mexico and the United States to strengthen the competitiveness of the North American region, and to broaden the scope of our relationship," said Canales. "The private sector must be the engine of this initiative. Stronger bi-national links will foster economic integration, growth and competitiveness."

The conference will include sector-specific panel sessions, where participants will discuss assistance programs, priorities, and prevailing conditions in key economic areas. Other panels will explore enterprise financing; regulations, taxes and procedures required for doing business in North America; and the impact of enhancement of human capital on economic development in Mexico.

Other senior US government participants in the conference will include Grant Aldonas, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, and Alan P. Larson, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs.

On the Mexican side, government participants will include Augustin Carstens, Deputy Secretary of Finance and Public Credit; Lourdes Dieck, Under Secretary of Economic Relations and International Cooperation; Angel Villalobos, Under Secretary of International Trade Negotiations; and Eduardo Sojo, Chief Economic Advisor to President Vicente Fox.

Rosario Marin, Treasurer of the United States, will moderate the conference. Also taking part are the private-sector US Council on Competitiveness and its Mexican counterpart, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.

Businesses interested in participating in the conference should visit
www.partnershipworks2003.com.

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