By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A group of Del Rio and Ciudad Acuña business leaders, customs officials and city administrators met Thursday to discuss ongoing efforts to promote the border crossing here as the fastest, safest and friendliest within 750 miles.
The group, which calls itself “the working group for the promotion of the border port of Acuña-Del Rio,” met at the Del Rio Multi-Purpose Facility.
The meeting included Ciudad Acuña Presidente Municipal Roberto De Los Santos Vazquez, Liliana Flores, Del Rio Port of Entry director for Customs and Border Protection; Jesus Issac Hernandez Zuniga, administrator of the Ciudad Acuña Port of Entry, Chandra Eggmeyer, economic development and tourism specialist from the office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Larissa Place, training, trade and business development specialist for the Texas Department of Agriculture; Del Rio City Manager Matt Wojnowski, and Luis Angel Urraza Dugay, president of the Ciudad Acuña Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting also included representatives of the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, including its executive director, Blanca Larson, and board members of the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Also participating in the event was Ciudad Acuña City Manager Felipe Bustos and Paloma Villasenor Vargas, Mexican consul in Del Rio.
Isidro Valdez Fernandez, president of the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, welcomed those attending and introduced principal participants.
“This group of many organizations has come together for the purpose of promoting the Acuña-Del Rio Ports of Entry to increase commercial border crossings and bring positive impacts to our communities. Today’s meeting is a continuation of many previous meetings and roundtable discussions, but especially the bilateral meeting we hosted in May and which included State of Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis,” Fernandez said.
He said the day’s agenda would include a review of the work done to date and a screening of a new promotional video for the group’s campaign, which has been named “The Right Way/El Ruta Es.”
The working group’s stated objective for 2021 is to “radically increase the number of commercial crossings on the border of Acuña/Del Rio, for the economic benefit of both cities.”
Before the meeting, Trinidad Herrera, coordinator of the working group, said the group was organized about a year-and-a-half ago and meets once a month to assess its progress.
Herrera said the group will focus on working with potential port users within a 750-mile radius of Del Rio and Ciudad Acuña.
“The most important thing is we are working together, both communities,” Herrera said.
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