ATLANTA – Atlanta continues to strengthen its position as a gateway to the Americas , as evidenced by a gathering of over 900 top business, government and academic leaders in Atlanta June 11-12 for the Americas Competitiveness Forum.

“The eyes of the world are on Atlanta as three U.S. cabinet secretaries, two Latin American vice presidents and 33 nations converge here to talk about one powerful idea – how the Western Hemisphere can work together to become a stronger force in the global economy,” said Dick Anderson, chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

“Atlanta won its bid to host this forum because of the strength of relationships we built through our work on Hemisphere, Inc. – and because Atlanta companies such as Delta, UPS, The Coca-Cola Company, General Electric, CNN and others have been doing business throughout the hemisphere for years,” said Sam A. Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.“ Atlanta continues to strengthen its position as a gateway to the Americas.”

Williams noted that Atlanta now has more than 60 direct air routes to destinations in the Western Hemisphere, 18 consulates representing such countries, and one of only two United Nation's CIFAL offices in the hemisphere. CIFAL centers provide training for government and private-sector leaders.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber worked closely with partners at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, CIFAL Atlanta, the City of Atlanta, the Hispanic Bar Foundation and the Atlanta office of the U.S. Department of Commerce to win this bid. The Chamber also set up site visits to Georgia Tech and the Ron Clark Academy for forum participants, and co-hosted an opening-night reception for U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on the Chamber's rooftop overlooking downtown Atlanta.

The forum is a direct result of President Bush's recommendation to meet with all of the leaders from the Western Hemisphere to discuss improving the region's competitiveness. President Bush first made the recommendation following the Summit of the Americas in November 2005 held in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Atlanta competed with Louisville, Ky., and Research Triangle Park, N.C., for the honor to host the competitiveness forum. The Department of Commerce selected Atlanta as the host because of its history of forming strong public-private partnerships to foster business innovation and drive competitiveness.

The forum consists of panel discussions on topics such as leveraging the local government, business and university ties to foster innovation and technological readiness, education and workforce development, competitiveness of small to medium enterprises and supply chain management. The conference also incorporates site visits around the region that relate to the forum's theme and main topics.

###

The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce – with our 4,000 member companies that collectively employ more than 700,000 workers – is a catalyst for a vibrant metro region. Over the last 140 years, the Chamber has been bringing the region’s leaders together to tackle the issues that matter most to the business community: quality jobs and quality of life.

< Back