McALLEN, RGV – Keith Patridge, president of McAllen Economic Development Corporation, says he was encouraged by the amount of energy and unity on display at a recent bi-national chamber of commerce event.
Patridge said he can foresee a regional, binational, economic development plan being produced to boost jobs on both sides of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo.
“This meeting was extremely important because what we have been hearing, coming out of both capitals, has really raised the rhetoric levels and really raised the anxiety level among the business community and the citizens and families that live on both sides of the border,” Patridge told the Rio Grande Guardian, after the news conference had ended.
The event was hosted by McAllen Chamber of Commerce and drew a large contingent of chambers of commerce from Tamualipas.
Patridge went on to say: “We have talked about being one region for many, many, years and in many respects, we have practiced what we have been talking about. But, I see this as being the first meeting of what I hope will become a more comprehensive regional plan, not for the U.S. and Mexico but for our international region.”
