EDINBURG, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott was the keynote speaker at the Rio Grande Valley Partnership’s recent 2023 RGV Economic Summit.
The event took place at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, with hundreds of community, business, and political leaders in attendance.
Abbott was applauded throughout his 25-minute speech.
He started his speech by thanking state Sen. Juan Hinojosa. The McAllen Democrat had introduced Abbott. Abbott said that as a delegation, the Rio Grande Valley’s state lawmakers are “a force to be reckoned with.”
Abbott also pointed out that he has visited the Rio Grande Valley more than any other Texas governor.
“There is a very powerful, compelling reason why this happened. And that's because the RGV is perhaps the fastest growing region of all regions across the state of Texas. You truly are the epicenter of the booming Texas economy. The Texas of tomorrow is going to be built here in the Rio Grande Valley,” Abbott said, to warm applause.
Abbott said that while the motto of the summit was “One Region, One Voice,” the event could be summed up in one word: unity. “When you all come together as one unit, you are extraordinarily more powerful and more effective than you are working individually,” he said.
Abbott said he agreed with a previous speaker, Adriana Cruz. The executive director of Texas Economic Development & Tourism said, “a win for one, is a win for all.”
By way of an example, Abbott pointed to how the Dallas region works as a unit. He said the numerous municipalities around the perimeter of Dallas all work together with the big city. He said the City of Irving often lands the big deals but every municipality wins in the region wins.
“So my point is, when you all work together as a unit you want to be a magnet for economic opportunity and jobs that will be repeating itself over and over and over again. Your primary goal by working together is to be that collective messenger to the entire globe, that one of the prime real estate locations in the world to do business is the Rio Grande Valley of the great State of Texas.”
Here is and audio version of Gov. Abbott's speech in full:
Abbott also spoke about how he had worked with the Valley’s legislative delegation to land a Level One Trauma Center. And on the subject of broadband, Abbott said:
“There are many areas across RGV that have inadequate access to broadband. That is almost like a different era in which people are living. There's one area where people have access to broadband and they are up to speed on what's going on today. If there is a home or school or business that does not have access to broadband they are not able to live and compete in the modern day era.
“So we've made a commitment to expand broadband because its spurs business growth. It helps children learn. It allows access to health care in your own home. And because of that we are in the midst of rapidly spreading broadband across the entirety of the Rio Grande Valley to ensure that the future that is online will expand the future of the RGV.”
Abbott also made a bold prediction about the Port of Brownsville.
“What's going on at the Port cannot be overstated. We are working and have been working with billion dollar businesses that are expanding operations in the Port of Brownsville. This port was already incredibly important as an international transfer port. It already provides well over 50,000 jobs and $3 billion in economic activity. But the future of the Port and what it will do for this region is the most important thing. Mark my words, the Port of Brownsville is going to be centerpiece of major economic expansion for this entire region.”
Editor's Note: Senior Rio Grande Guardian reporter Patricia Martinez contributed to this story from Edinburg, Texas.
Editor's Note: Click here and here for two other Rio Grande Guardian stories from the RGVP's 2023 economic summit.
