Sonora Global advances in the construction of bridges to attract investment

The investment promotion organization, Sonora Global, has built bridges with the business community in other states, not only Mexico but the United States, particularly Arizona.

Arturo Fernández Díaz González, president and founder of Sonora Global, reported that given its proximity and the fact that Sonora is a neighbor of the state of Arizona, they have maintained approaches with the authorities of the city of Tucson, which has also expressed interest in developing relations with the business community of Sonora, "which presents an important opportunity."

For this 2023, Fernández Díaz González sees four main opportunities and challenges for the business community and economic development in the north of the country: Semiconductors, T-MEC, energy infrastructure and nearshoring .

Fernández warned that the energy infrastructure is seen as one of the main bottlenecks for industrial growth.

And it is that the Sonora Plan is found, an ambitious project that promotes the use of renewable energy through the construction of solar parks. However, said Arturo Fernández, this has to be accompanied by the development of a network with a connection and distribution infrastructure by the CFE.

"In the north of the country, the Federal Electricity Commission has not adequately adjusted its growth plans to develop the interconnection capacity that is needed," he said.

In this sense, the State Energy Cluster has a great interest in working together with Sonora Global in the development of a 2024 agenda in terms of economic development and this is one of the current issues .

That is why together they organize an energy forum to address the issue in the presence of specialists and authorities to promote the development of the state of Sonora, since it is necessary to make visible the needs not only of the state but of the north of the country.

As far as semiconductors are concerned, it is an issue that the governments of the United States and Mexico are interested in putting on the public and business agenda given the heavy investment that will be made to launch their production in North America.

With the pandemic, the strong dependence on Asia became evident, demonstrating a significant vulnerability for international trade, not only in the US but throughout the world.

“The aim is to reduce this dependency by developing more plants and greater production in other countries. And Sonora Global is joining this effort,” he commented.

In addition, there is the USMCA , which is an issue that concerns the business community, from its implementation, benefits and opportunities, not only in Mexico but also in Quebec, with whom Sonora Global seeks to hold a joint forum, as well as explore other options. to make it even more visible.

Another is nearshoring , in which Mexico has gained special relevance given its strategic location and competitive advantages, which has led to the visit of many organizations and "Sonora Global does not intend to be left out of this agenda either," he asserted.

One year from Sonora Global 

One year after its formation as Sonora Global, it has carried out various activities during 2022 inside and outside Mexico, including business meetings with leaders from other countries such as the US, where it held meetings in the city of Phoenix; United Arab Emirates, where he met with representatives of the Dubai government; and in Canada, with the Quebec government.

In addition to various meetings with organizations, associations and business chambers in the state, Sonora Global also participated in international forums.

In addition to a series of trade missions in Tijuana, El Bajío and Arizona, he held meetings with municipal governments as part of his shared agenda and promotion of entrepreneurship.

"In this year of work we have observed a consolidation of the membership and the construction of a 2023 agenda," he said.

This agenda is made up of business meetings and missions, participation in international exhibitions, training workshops, investment seminars and a series of informational meetings for the membership.

Sonora, competitive land

Sonora is the second largest state in its territory with 9.1% of the country's total and shares a 588 km border with Arizona and New Mexico, USA.

In addition, it has a population of 936,263 inhabitants, of which 425,255 make up its economically active population (PEA) and its unemployment rate stands at 2.94 percent.

In terms of infrastructure and connectivity, it has the necessary infrastructure for business operations: it has six land customs and one maritime; It has the Port of Guaymas (for export and import by rail), and has 2,282.7 km of federal highways and 3,611 km of state highways.

Also noteworthy are its five international airports and its railway route with the Sonora-Baja California route, with 1,250 miles of tracks (52% industrial loads).

"All these aspects make Sonora an excellent option to invest," he concluded.