Linkages to Colombia

Ines Calderon, vice chair of the Linkages Committee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, co-led a mission of 23 delegates to three cities in Colombia as part of an initiative with the Americas Linkage Initiative of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Coral Gables Chamber represented by its president Mark Trowbridge and Chairman, Marc Berenfeld. The first stop was Bogotá where the group met with Sr. Commercial Officer Margaret Hanson-Muse from the US Embassy, and representatives from various organizations such as the Bogotá Am-Cham; the National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI) and representatives from various law firms who spoke on the general topic of “doing business in Colombia.” The afternoon included a presentation by the delegates to a Colombian audience on “how to do business in the US.” The next day Linkages hosted a breakfast for the Governor of the State of Quindio, the Hon. Mario Ariztizabal, who cordially invited Linkages to visit his state for the 2010 Linkages program. The afternoon included a visit to one of the largest flower farms in the country and ended with a reception at the Museum of Modern Art. The second city was Barranquilla where the group visited the Port and Regional Port Society followed by a visit to the free zone and PIMSA Industrial Park. The group was also hosted by the Governor of Atlantico, the Hon. Eduardo Verano de la Rosa who spoke about the recent developments in his city and opened the new Museum to Life for a tour as a special gesture to the group. In Cartagena, the group met with Mayor Don Slesnick of Coral Gables at the office of the Hon. Judith Pinedo, Mayor of Cartagena where they exchanged gifts in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Sister City relationship. I. Calderon took this opportunity to thank the Mayor for her support of the Colombia FTA. This was followed by a luncheon offered by the Chamber of Cartagena where an agreement was signed by the two cities. Matchmaking roundtables in each city gave the mission an opportunity to develop business partnerships between South Florida and Colombia.

 

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