On May 25th during Governing Magazine’s annual Summit on Governance and Innovation held in Phoenix, attention was brought to the impressive work the City of Phoenix and Mayor Greg Stanton have advanced in their work with Arizona’s largest trading partner, Mexico. One of the summit’s best attended sessions was their inaugural foray into international business with a high-level panel discussion on the value of the US-Mexico relationship moderated by Josh Nisbet from Deloitte and panelists: Mayor Greg Stanton; Hon. Jesús Antonio Valdés Palazuelos, Mayor of Culiacan, Sinaloa; Hon. Manuel Ignacio Acosta Gutiérrez, Mayor of Hermosillo, Sonora; and Hon. Claudia Franco Hijuelos, Consul General of Mexico, Phoenix. A robust dialogue between the panelists brought out the realities of a strong bilateral agenda and the advantages of having a strong government to government relationship in helping advance sharing of best practices and economic opportunities. Molera Alvarez worked with the City of Phoenix and Governing Magazine to accomplish this inaugural endeavor.

Pictured above left to right: Hon. Jesús Antonio Valdés Palazuelos, Mayor of Culiacan: Hon. Greg Stanton, Mayor of Phoenix; Margie Emmermann, Molera Alvarez Vice President; Hon. Manuel Ignacio Acosta Gutiérrez, Mayor of Hermosillo; and Hon. Roberto Ruibal, Secretary of Economy for Hermosillo