ELSA, Texas - Council for South Texas Economic Progress (COSTEP) CEO Adam Gonzalez has made his pitch for Mumbai-based manufacturers to set up shop in the Rio Grande Valley and/or Laredo and has now moved on to Delhi.
Gonzalez is part of a trade mission to India co-hosted by the Governor’s Economic Development & Tourism Office and the Texas Economic Development Corporation. Gov. Greg Abbott is leading the mission.
The delegation departed for India on January 19 and will return on January 28.
In a posting on social media, Gonzalez said: “Discussions were held on promoting cross-border trade through innovation, investments, and technology partnerships. The delegation also visited with a large tech company that focuses on engineering, cloud, software, and digital technologies.”
Gonzalez said Day 4 concluded with meetings held with young business leaders in Dehli.
“COSTEP has had a successful mission and will begin cultivating relationships established this week,” he added.
According to its website COSTEP is advancing regional prosperity through a strategic framework for economic development. “This framework is data-driven and market-validated, with a strong emphasis on job creation and building a regional talent pipeline, all working toward the goal of creating a virtuous circle of education and employment to drive sustainable economic growth and prosperity for the region and its citizens,” the COSTEP website says.
While Gonzalez is in India, COSTEP is being led in South Texas by its economic development director, Rick Carrera. The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service caught up with Carrera in Elsa earlier this week.
Asked what Gonzalez’s goal in India is, Carrera said: “The goal of his visit to India is our primary goal, which is to increase exposure of South Texas to everybody out there that is looking for a good viable space to land, expand, start up a good, solid, industrial company.”
In his interview, Carrera said Gonzalez was not in India just because the Governor’s office had organized the trip.
“India has been on our radar for some time. Previous to my time here, COSTEP had done a lot of work trips to foreign countries. They hadn't gotten around to going to India. So, because the country was on our radar, this was a prime opportunity for us to visit. Obviously, the Governor's Office is helping establish the contacts that Adam is going to be visiting with while they're there. So it's all come together at a really opportune time.”
Asked if the fact that Indian tech giant Zoho Corporation has opened a facility in McAllen is an advantage, Carrera said: “Absolutely, because it sets a precedent. If somebody's is here and they have set up shop already, it sets a set a precedent. They (Zoho) can actually speak to the quality of the whole process of establishing here in the Rio South Texas region.
Asked what else COSTEP is currently working on, Carrera said: “Well, we will have our usual Friends of COSTEP quarterly meetings. We’re planning on having one probably towards the end of February.”
During his last interview with the Guardian, Carrera said COSTEP was planning to have a site selector tour in 2024. Asked about this, he said: “We're working on some of those right now.”
The Guardian also asked Carrera about COSTEP’s efforts to land two major manufacturing firms, one in the food industry and one in the aerospace industry.
“They're progressing along. It's still positive. But beyond that, I couldn't give any more details. But they're moving right along just as we had hoped.”
Asked if there was anything else he would like to add, Carrera said: “No, other than, as ever, we're working as hard as we can to accomplish our mission; to increase the exposure of our region to all those companies that are looking to expand in here. We think this is a goldmine. This is a great opportunity for any kind of redevelopment, new development, expansion. So we're going to capitalize on that as much as we can.”
