* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. UH, WELCOME TO OUR ECONOMIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING THIS FIFTH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2019. IF WE CAN HAVE ROLL PLEASE. COVERED IT HERE. PRESENT AND CHAIRWOMAN GRO. HERE WE HAVE A QUORUM. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU. WELCOME, EVERYONE. UH, WE HAVE JUST ONE ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY, BUT I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS AGENDA ITEM. IT IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE METRO PRIORITY PLAN, THE PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR THE CITY. IT'S GOING TO BE PRESENTED BY OUR, UH, DIRECTOR ALEJANDRA LOPEZ. OH, YES. BUT FIRST, [1. 19-8128 Approval of the minutes from the Economic and Workforce Development Committee meeting on October 1, 2019.] LET US THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. UM, LET US MOVE FORWARD. FIRST ON THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 1ST, 2019, UH, E W D C COMMITTEE MEETING. THEY WERE IN YOUR PACKETS. I MOVE TO APPROVE. WE HAVE A MOTION, A SECOND FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF, OF THE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1ST E W D C COMMITTEE MEETING. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. POST SAME SIGN. MOTION CARRIES. [2. 19-8114 A briefing and possible action on the "Metro Priority Plan", the proposed international economic development strategy for the city. [Carlos J. Contreras III, Assistant City Manager; Alejandra Lopez, Interim Director, Economic Development]] NOW WE'LL MOVE FORWARD WITH ALEX LOPEZ AND OUR BRIEFING. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. I'M EXCITED TO BE SHARING THIS UPDATE ON OUR INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY BECAUSE WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR QUITE A WHILE. UM, AND WE'RE, THIS IS A MAJOR MILESTONE FOR US. SO I WANNA START OFF BY PROVIDING YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, UM, BASICALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH WHEN IT COMES TO THIS INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ADDRESSING. IN FACT, WE'RE BUILDING ON A VERY SOLID FOUNDATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT SPAN THE GLOBE. UH, SAN ANTONIO IS ALREADY A MELTING POT FOR DIVERSE CULTURES. WE KNOW THIS. UH, WE HAVE 11 SISTER CITIES, AND OUR CURRENT MAYOR IS THE CHAIR OF THE SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AT THIS TIME. UM, WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL OTHER FORMAL RELATIONSHIPS, INCLUDING FRIENDSHIP CITY AGREEMENTS, AND WE HAVE MOUS WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES AS WELL. AND AS YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO ALSO HAS RECEIVED TWO UNESCO DESIGNATIONS. UM, OUR MISSIONS ARE DESIGNATED AS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE, AND WE'VE ALSO BEEN DESIGNATED AS A CREATIVE CITY OF GASTRONOMY. SO, SAN ANTONIO. WE ALSO, ALONG WITH ALL OF THESE CULTURAL TIES, UH, WE ALSO HAVE TWO REPRESENTATIVE TRADE OFFICES, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. WE'VE GOT GASSA SAN ANTONIO IN MEXICO CITY, AND WE'VE GOT THE TEXAS JAPAN OFFICE IN TOKYO. SO WE'VE GOT ALL THESE DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS, AND I WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO KIND OF SPELL 'EM ALL OUT SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE STARTING FROM TODAY. WHAT WE'RE SHARING WITH YOU IS OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR TAKING THE NEXT STEP IN THIS PATH. OUR METRO PRIORITY PLAN DESCRIBES OUR UPDATED INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY USING A HOLISTIC APPROACH, TAKING THE DATA THAT WE LEARNED FROM OUR BROOKINGS WORK, AND COMBINING IT WITH THOSE EXISTING INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT I JUST MENTIONED. THIS PLAN FOCUSES ON KEY GLOBAL CITIES AND COMBINES DIPLOMATIC BUSINESS, CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS TO INCREASE SAN ANTONIO'S ACCESS TO OUT OUTSIDE, UM, THE OUTSIDE WORLD. AND TO ELEVATE SAN ANTONIO'S GLOBAL REPUTATION. THIS PLAN BUILDS ON SUBSTANTIAL PRIOR WORK OUR TEAM HAS COMPLETED, WHICH YOU SEE LISTED ON THIS SLIDE, AND IT DATES ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2012. THIS PLAN WILL ALSO INFORM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION'S UPDATED STRATEGIC PLAN IN RELATION TO INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT'S FLEXIBLE. IT ALLOWS US TO PIVOT AND ADJUST AS DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE AND OUTCOMES ARE ACHIEVED AS A REFRESHER, UH, THESE ARE THE STEPS WE TOOK TO IDENTIFY OUR PRIORITY CITIES WITHIN EACH OF SAN ANTONIO'S TARGETED INDUSTRIES. AND WE ACTUALLY STARTED THIS PROCESS WITH THE CYBERSECURITY INDUSTRY. WE RESEARCHED MARKETS THAT SHOWED A CRITICAL MASS OF CYBER BUSINESSES BASED ON NS CODES. THEN WE RANKED THE MARKETS BASED ON MACROECONOMIC FACTORS, POLITICAL EDUCATION AND CULTURAL FACTORS AS WELL. WE COMBINED THE DATA AND THEN APPLIED WAITING FACTORS. UM, AND THEN WE SOLICITED FEEDBACK FROM OUR LOCAL INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS, UM, TO VALIDATE THIS DATA. AT FIRST, WE WORKED WITH THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, BUT THEN WE RE, ONCE WE HAD THE MODEL IN PLACE, WE REPEATED THIS PROCESS, UM, OF THE DIFFERENT, THE DIFFERENT ANALYSIS THROUGH THE DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES WITH THE SUBED INSTITUTE, WITH DR. NIVAN AND DR. RAHMAN FROM ST. MARY'S, UM, [00:05:01] FOR EACH OF THE DIFFERENT TARGETED INDUSTRIES. AS A REMINDER, OUR, OUR TARGETED INDUSTRIES ARE LISTED THERE AS WELL. UM, AND WE HAVE THESE TARGETED INDUSTRIES, AGAIN, JUST BECAUSE WE KNOW WE HAVE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THESE AREAS. AND WE KNOW THAT THESE INDUSTRIES WILL, UH, PROVIDE FOR THE TYPE OF GROWTH, THE TYPE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT WE WANNA SEE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS VERY SMALL TEXT, BUT I DID WANNA SHOW YOU ALL THE DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT WE CONSIDERED. UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S DIFFERENT WEIGHT, DIFFERENT PRIORITY GIVEN TO DIFFERENT FACTORS. UM, INDUSTRY PRIORITIZATION AND MACROECONOMIC FACTORS WERE THE TWO BIGGEST CATEGORIES, EACH WORTH 40% OR 40 OF, OF THE WEIGHT IN THE, IN THE ANALYSIS. BUT THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT POLITICAL FACTORS AND CULTURAL FACTORS AND, AND THEN GEOGRAPHY. I MENTIONED THAT WE ALSO, ONCE WE HAD ALL THIS DATA, WE ALSO WENT TO OUR LOCAL INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS TO BASICALLY SHARE WITH THEM WHAT THE RESULTS WERE SO THAT THEY COULD PROVIDE THEIR FEEDBACK TO US AND, AND MAKE THAT, UM, THE DATA, THE ANALYSIS A LITTLE BIT MORE RELEVANT. UH, SOME SPECIFIC FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED. AND ONE OF THE SPECIFIC INDUSTRIES WAS IN CYBERSECURITY. UM, AND THIS WAS OUR FIRST INDUSTRY. AGAIN, WHEN WE SHARED THE DATA FINDINGS WITH, UM, THE, WITH THE GROUP, WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT, UM, THERE WAS AT LEAST ONE METRO IN CHINA THAT HAD, HAD, WAS VERY HIGH RANKED, VERY HIGH ACCORDING TO THE DATA FACTORS. BUT WHEN WE TALKED TO COMPANIES, THEY, THEY INDICATED TO US THAT AT THIS TIME, THERE REALLY IS NO INTEREST, BOTH FROM OUR LOCAL COMPANIES TO BE DOING ANY TYPE OF BUSINESS IN CHINA OR FOR, FOR THERE TO BE THAT TYPE OF EXCHANGE RIGHT NOW. SO THAT'S, UM, AGAIN, AN EXAMPLE OF HOW VALIDATING THE DATA FINDINGS WITH OUR LOCAL INDUSTRY WAS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT. AND NOW THESE ARE THE ACTUAL RANKINGS THAT WE DEVELOPED. SO EACH OF THESE CITIES RANKED HIGHLY AMONG MULTIPLE TARGETED INDUSTRIES. UH, I'LL START WITH TOKYO AND ACTUALLY FRANKFURT, THOSE TWO RANKED HIGH FOR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, FOR AEROSPACE, FOR BIO, FOR CYBER, AND FOR NEW ENERGY. UM, THEN WE HAD, SO WHICH RANKED HIGH FOR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, FOR BIO AND FOR NEW ENERGY. UM, THEN WE'VE GOT TORONTO, WHICH IS TECH A RATHER NEW MARKET FOR US, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE A U S M C A PARTNER WITH US. UM, IT IS STILL RELATIVELY A NEW MARKET, BUT IT RANKED HIGH FOR BOTH BIO AND CYBER. AND THEN WE'VE GOT MEXICO CITY, WHICH, UM, IS REALLY ALSO A U S M C A PARTNER. BUT THE FOCUS OF OUR STRATEGY WHEN IT COMES TO MEXICO CITY IS REALLY MUCH MORE ORIENTED TOWARDS TRADE AND NOT NECESSARILY FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT. SO DUE TO THE GEO, GEO GEOGRAPHICAL PROXIMITY AND ALIGNMENT, WE ALSO HAVE OUR SISTER CITIES IN, IN ALL OF THESE COUNTRIES INCLUDED AS WELL. SO YOU SEE THAT OTHER BUBBLE OF OTHER, THAT'S BASICALLY OUR, OUR WAY OF MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT OUR, OUR, UM, OUR STRATEGY WILL STILL INCLUDE THESE COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH. WE KNOW THAT THERE'S STILL BENEFIT TO CONTINUE TO CULTIVATE THOSE. UM, SPECIFICALLY AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, AT THIS TIME IN CERTAIN INDUSTRIES, UM, COOPERATION, COORDINATION, INVESTMENT WITH, UH, WITH CHINA MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE AT THE TOP OF, OF SOME INDUSTRIES LIST, BUT IT WILL STILL BE THE COOPERATION THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE THROUGH OUR SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIPS, AND THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FOSTER BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE EBBS AND FLOWS IN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS. SO THE, THE BEAUTY AND THE PART OF THE INTRICACY OF THIS STRATEGY WAS THE WAY THAT WE CAN COMBINE THOSE DIPLOMATIC, CULTURAL, EDUCATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES THAT WE DO WITH THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMPONENT OF OUR OFFICE AS WELL. THE DIFFERENT COLORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIFFERENT CITIES BASICALLY TIE TO THAT KEY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, WHETHER OUR FOCUS IS FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, WHETHER IT'S TRADE, OR WHETHER IT'S COLLABORATION. SO I WANTED TO SPEND JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO EXPLAIN. I, I, I EXPLAINED WHY WE'RE PRIORITIZING AND HOW WE'RE PRIORITIZING, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY WE'RE NOT INCLUDING OTHER METROS. WE KNOW WE HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES, AND WE KNOW WE HAD, THERE'S OVER 190 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD. SO WE NEEDED TO FIND A WAY TO FOCUS OUR ENERGY AND OUR EFFORTS BY FOCUSING ON THESE FIVE KEY CITIES. WE CAN DEEPEN OUR RELATIONSHIPS, LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE COMMUNITIES, AND STRENGTHEN OUR BONDS. BUT IN ADDITION, THERE WERE CERTAIN BARRIERS WITH CENTRAL AMERICA AND SOUTH AMERICA. UM, ALSO, AFRICA WAS IN THIS, IN THIS CATEGORY. UM, IN PARTICULAR THE LACK OF INCOME TAX TREATIES, UM, WHICH WOULD CAUSE DOUBLE TAXATION FOR COMPANIES. UM, THERE'S ALSO A [00:10:01] LACK OF FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS THAT WOULD CAUSE TARIFFS ON IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. SO THOSE WERE THINGS THAT WE CONSIDERED AS WELL, ALONG WITH, UH, A RANKING THAT THE WORLD BANK ACTUALLY DOES FOR COUNTRIES. AND IT'S, IT'S CONSIDERED THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS. UM, MOST OF THE, OF THE COUNTRIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WERE RANKED. THEY HAD A SCORE OF 30 OR LESS. THE LOWER THE NUMBER, THE BETTER. SO SOME OF THESE OTHER COUNTRIES, YOU'LL SEE BRAZIL ACTUALLY WAS, THEIR SCORE WAS 109. UM, THE, THE HIGHEST THE SCORE GOES IS 190. UM, AND EVEN COLUMBIA WAS STILL AT 65. SO, LIKE I MENTIONED FOR REFERENCE, WE'RE LOOKING AT AROUND THE 30 OR LOWER. UM, AND THAT'S WHY SOME OF THESE, UH, COMMUNITIES, SOME OF THESE COUNTRIES YOU SEE DIDN'T QUITE RA UH, RISE IN THAT RANKING, UM, EXERCISE. AND THEN ULTIMATELY, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHERE IF THOSE COUNTRIES ARE ACTUALLY INVESTING ABROAD, IS MONEY LEAVING THE COUNTRIES? ARE THEY, IS THIS MONEY BEING INVESTED? AND YOU, WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT IN CENTRAL AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, AFRICA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST, THE ACCOUNT FOR LESS THAN 7% OF THE CROSS-BORDER INVESTMENTS. SO THIS IS WHERE, THIS IS A CHART THAT BA BASICALLY SHOWS, UH, 15, 16 AND 2017, UH, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FROM THESE DIFFERENT REGIONS. AND YOU'LL SEE THAT EUROPE AND ASIA PACIFIC IS REALLY WHERE THE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IS HAPPENING. SO AS FAR AS OUR NEXT STEPS, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON THREE KEY STRATEGIES OR THREE KEY STEPS NOW. AND THAT'S TO EXPAND OUR GLOBAL NETWORK AND ELEVATE OUR REPUTATION TO EXCHANGE BEST PRACTICES, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO INCREASED FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND TRADE. WE THEN WENT THROUGH AN EXERCISE TO HELP US DIVIDE UP THOSE, THOSE PRIORITY METROS INTO DIFFERENT STAGES OF THOSE THREE CATEGORIES. UM, SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE CHARACTERISTICS WE USE TO DETERMINE THE STAGES OF BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS IN PARTICULAR METROS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN TORONTO AND IN MONTREAL, WE'RE DEVELOPING INTRODUCTORY RELATIONSHIPS RIGHT NOW, UH, BUT IN TOKYO WE ALREADY HAVE EXISTING COLLABORATIONS AND WE HAVE AN ONGOING MISSION. WE, WE DO REGULAR MISSIONS TO THE COUNTRY, TO THE CITY, AND WE HAVE AN OFFICE THERE. UM, SAME SAID FOR MEXICO CITY. WE HAVE, UH, UH, WE JUST SIGNED A FRIENDSHIP CITY AGREEMENT. WE HAVE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, M O U, UH, WE HAVE A TRADE OFFICE, AND WE HAVE NONSTOP FLIGHTS AS WELL. SO THE BULLETS I'VE LISTED HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE EXAMPLES OF THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT WE USE TO TRY TO DETERMINE WHERE IN, IN THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING PROCESS A PARTICULAR METRO IS. WE DID THE SAME THING FROM A COLLABORATION PERSPECTIVE. SO NOW WE'RE NOT JUST THINKING BUSINESS, NOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE, THE, THE TIES THAT OUR UNIVERSITIES HAVE THAT, UM, FROM A DIPLOMATIC PERSPECTIVE WE MAY HAVE. SO WE, WE LOOKED AT THAT, UM, ALONG WITH ALL OF OUR EXISTING SISTER CITY AGREEMENTS, FRIENDSHIP, CITY AGREEMENTS, AND OTHER FORMAL NETWORK RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE HAVE. I WANNA HIGHLIGHT HERE ALSO THAT THESE CHARACTERISTICS, AS WE WERE IDENTIFYING THEM, WE REALIZE THEY BUILD ON EACH OTHER. UH, YOU COULD SEE WHERE A UNIVERSITY WOULD FIRST, UH, IDENTIFY, UH, ITS COUNTERPART IN A DIFFERENT COMMUNITY THAT MAYBE HAVE DEGREES THAT ALIGN IN A PARTICULAR, UH, TARGETED INDUSTRY. THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO START DEVELOPING SOME SORT OF EXCHANGE, STUDENT EXCHANGE PROCESS, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SIMILAR DEGREE ALIGNMENT. AND THEN LASTLY, WE, A MUCH MORE SOPHISTICATED RELATIONSHIP WOULD BE FOR THERE TO ACTUALLY BE CAMPUSES IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES FOR THE PARTICULAR UNIVERSITIES. WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT KIND OF COLLABORATION CONTINUE TO GROW. SO EVEN THOUGH IT'S AN EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT, YOU START SEEING THE EXCHANGE THAT'S BUILT FROM THE STUDENTS THAT EXPERIENCE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. UM, AND HOW THAT ULTIMATELY INFORMS THEM AS ENTREPRENEURS, AS BUSINESS OWNERS, AS EMPLOYEES OF SOME OF OUR COMPANIES, HAVING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS ABROAD ARE VERY IMPORTANT. SO FROM THERE, ONCE WE IDENTIFIED THE THE DIFFERENT CITIES, WHAT, WHAT STAGE ARE THEY IN? WHAT TYPE OF RELATIONSHIPS DO I ALREADY HAVE? WHAT ARE THE, NOW WE IDENTIFIED, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TACTICS THAT ARE IMPORTANT AND THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE FOR US TO DEPLOY BASED ON THE STAGE OF THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE IN THAT COMMUNITY? SO WE START OFF IN THOSE INTRODUCTORY RELATIONSHIPS. WHEN IT COMES TO INCREASING OUR GLOBAL NETWORK, IT'S REALLY ABOUT IDENTIFYING WHO ARE THOSE, WHO ARE THOSE INFLUENCERS? WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE CONNECTIONS ABROAD IN THESE CITIES THAT WE CAN PARTNER WITH AND THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE? UM, HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE, HOW, WHAT'S [00:15:01] A GOOD WAY FOR US TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION WHEN WE HAVE, UM, A DELEGATION MAYBE COMING IN OR WHEN WE'RE GOING SOMEWHERE? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP PEOPLE INFORMED THAT MIGHT HAVE SOME CONNECTION TO THOSE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY OR OF THE WORLD? STANDARDIZING DATA COLLECTION. UH, THIS AGAIN, IS, IS IMPORTANT AS FAR AS HOW WE COMMUNICATE AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA COMMUNICATE. UM, I WANNA, AGAIN, THESE STEPS, THESE TACTICS ALSO DO BUILD ON EACH OTHER BECAUSE IN THOSE AREAS WHERE WE DO ALREADY HAVE SOMEWHAT OF A RELATIONSHIP, IT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE FOR US TO GO A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, START DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL BRIEFING MATERIAL FOR THAT PARTICULAR CITY, MAKE SURE THAT THAT INFORMATION IS TRANSLATED. UM, LEVERAGE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES THAT WE COULD ATTEND OR THAT ALIGN WITH SPECIFIC INDUSTRIES, HOSTING INBOUND DELEGATIONS. AT THAT POINT, THIS COMMUNITY KNOWS ABOUT US, AND THEY'RE STARTING TO SEND PEOPLE HERE. SO WHEN THEY COME HERE, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE SHOW THEM WHAT OUR COMMUNITY IS TRULY ABOUT. AND THEN LASTLY, WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE A PRETTY SOLID RELATIONSHIP, HOW DO WE DEVELOP MORE OF A LEADERSHIP ASPECT SO THAT WE, WE TRULY BUILD THE, A TYPE OF AMBASSADOR TYPE PROGRAM THAT CAN PROMOTE, UH, THE, THE BENEFITS OF THESE TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS. AND OF THIS, I KNOW THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OFFICE CALLS IT GL GLOBAL FLUENCY. WE WANT OUR RESIDENTS TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE THAT AS WELL. UM, AND THEN FACILITATING ONGOING EXCHANGES RELATING TO DIPLOMACY, CULTURE, BUSINESS, HAVING THESE, UM, THESE NETWORKS ESTABLISHED. SO AGAIN, THESE WERE THE TACTICS THAT WE IDENTIFIED FOR, UH, INCREASING OUR GLOBAL NETWORK. ANOTHER THING THAT I WANNA SHARE IS THAT PART OF THE STRATEGY IN IDENTIFYING THESE WAS THAT WE WANTED TO TRY TO INFLUENCE OUTCOMES. AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT OUTCOMES IN, IN THE LAST COUPLE SLIDES. BUT REALLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS IN THE FIRST STAGE, WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THE KNOWLEDGE BASE, BOTH OF OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY. AND FOR, UM, ABROAD, WHAT DO PEOPLE KNOW? AND WHAT DO SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS KNOW ABOUT INTERNATIONAL, UM, CULTURAL RELATIONS AND BUSINESS? ONCE PEOPLE, ONCE WE HAVE DIFFERENT INFORMATION, AND ONCE PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF IT, THAT WOULD LEAD TO STAGE TWO WHERE WE CAN START ACTING DIFFERENTLY. WE CAN START ENGAGING NOW A COMPANY, NOW A A A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT CAN SAY, I KNOW SAN ANTONIO'S TARGETED INDUSTRY INCLUDES CYBERSECURITY. SO I WOULD LIKE TO GO SEND A DELEGATION THERE. THAT'S WHERE WE CAN START INFLUENCING THE ACTIONS OF, OF INDIVIDUALS, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THAT WILL LEAD IN THIS OUTCOME THAT WE WANNA SEE OF AN INCREASED, UM, THE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT, WHICH FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE IS THE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND THE TRADE THAT WE WANNA SEE. SO ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT TACTICS REALLY ADDRESS THOSE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE, OF THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS. SO WE DID THE SAME TEAM, SAME STRATEGY FOR ELEVATING SAN ANTONIO'S GLOBAL REPUTATION. AND HERE'S WHERE WE START, AGAIN, LEVERAGING THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND HOW WE PROMOTE SAN ANTONIO AND, UM, THE, OUR LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES. UM, WE COULD HIRE LEAD GENERATION FIRMS AND SITE SELECTING FIRMS THAT WILL HELP US TARGET SPECIFIC MARKETS BASED ON WHAT THE DATA TOLD US IS RELEVANT. UM, WE SHOULD PREPARE AN INTERNATIONAL GUIDE TO DOING BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO, HAVE IT IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, MAKING SURE THAT WE MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE, MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR FOREIGN COMPANIES TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO DO BUSINESS HERE. PROMOTE SOFT LANDING RESOURCES. SO ONE OF THE STRATEGIES WE'RE EXPLORING IS THE IDEA OF, UM, PARTNERING WITH LOCAL EITHER COWORKING SPACES, INCUBATORS, AND HAVING THIS OPPORTUNITY WHEN WE MEET A FOREIGN COMPANY THAT IS CONSIDERING EXPANSION IN SAN ANTONIO, HAVING THEM COME IN FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND WORK OUT OF ONE OF THESE SPACES AND REALLY GET TO KNOW THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN BECOME EMBEDDED IN IT AND THEY CAN TRULY SEE THE RESOURCES AND THE ASSETS AVAILABLE. UM, AND, AND AS A WAY OF TRYING TO LEVERAGE THAT ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT THAT WE HOPE THAT THEY MAKE IN OUR COMMUNITY. UH, SECOND STAGE STRATEGIES OR SECOND STAGE TACTICS BECOME A LITTLE BIT MORE INVOLVED. UM, ACTIVELY ENGAGING WITH SPECIAL EVENTS THAT PROMOTE TARGETED INDUSTRIES. UM, AGAIN, PARTICIPATING IN CONFERENCES AND FORUMS BECAUSE WE, WE KNOW THAT WE CAN TARGET THINGS A LITTLE BIT BETTER NOW. UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WE'VE GOT THAT, UM, PARTICIPATION IN ONGOING GLOBAL INITIATIVES. ONCE WE ARE, WE START, UM, ELEVATING OUR STATURE AS A COMMUNITY WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, BIOSCIENCE OR WHEN IT COMES TO SUSTAINABILITY. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE, WE WILL, UM, BE SEEN AS A LEADER FROM A CULTURAL DIPLOMACY PERSPECTIVE, BUT THEN ALSO FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE, COMPANIES WILL START SEEING THE VALUE OF THEIR INVESTMENT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. SOME OF THESE TACTICS ALREADY DEPLOYING. [00:20:01] UM, I KNOW WE RECENTLY HAD A CULTURAL AND TRADE MISSION TO JAPAN AND KOREA. UM, IT WAS A, IT WAS A RATHER EXTENSIVE TRADE MISSION. AND WE, I KNOW I WAS READING THE, THE DAILY REPORTS FROM THE STAFF. I KNOW Y'ALL WERE VERY BUSY WHILE Y'ALL WERE THERE, BUT WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN A LOT OF WORK. UM, OUR TEAM IS ALREADY DOING A LOT OF FOLLOW UP WORK FROM THESE, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED WE WHILE WE WERE THERE. UM, SO YES, SOMETIMES THERE'S RELATIONSHIPS THAT ALREADY RESULT IN BUSINESS, UM, MEETINGS. SOMETIMES WE START AND WE KEEP FOSTERING THE CULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS. FOR EXAMPLE, IN GUANG JU WITH OUR ART INSTALLATION, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE TRADE MISSION MEETINGS FROM THE ME, UH, IN SEOUL. UH, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW I WAS REALLY EXCITED TO READ ABOUT IT AND I KNOW, UM, AMY AND AND SHERRY ARE ALSO REALLY EXCITED. I'M SEEING FROM THE FOLLOW-UP THERE, THERE REALLY IS AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR US TO CONTINUE TO BUILD WITH COMPANIES. AND, AND, UM, IN PARTICULAR, O C I, I KNOW THAT MEETING WAS VERY PRODUCTIVE. NOT ONLY BECAUSE THEY EXPLAINED HOW THEY WANT TO EXPAND HERE AND HOW THEY EXPLAINED HOW THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF NEW ENERGY. NOW THEY'RE ALSO INTERESTED IN THE BIOSCIENCE, UM, AND RESEARCH. I, I THINK IN PARTICULAR, IT'S CANCER RESEARCH. UM, BUT THEN ALSO THEY MAKE THOSE INTRODUCTIONS FOR US WITH OTHER COMPANIES IN THEIR COUNTRY. SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING COUPLED WITH THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IS THE BEAUTY OF THIS STRATEGY. I MENTIONED THAT WE ALSO ARE GONNA BE MEASURING OUR SUCCESS. UH, SO WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS IMPORTANT WAS THAT THERE'S CERTAIN OUTPUTS THAT NEED TO BE MEASURED. WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO SEE, WE WANT TO BUILD A NETWORK AND WE WANNA SEE A, A VAST AMOUNT OF INDIVIDUALS. WE WANT SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS TO REALLY BE ABLE TO CONNECT TO THIS TYPE OF WORK. UM, WE'RE GONNA BE MEASURING OUTBOUND MISSIONS AND INBOUND DELEGATIONS. WE WANT TO SEE FORMAL AGREEMENTS BEING, UM, SIGNED WITH, WITH ENTITIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES AND SOME OF THESE TARGET METROS. BUT ULTIMATELY, THESE OUTPUTS NEED TO LEAD TO CERTAIN OUTCOMES. AND THAT'S WHERE WE WANNA SEE, AGAIN, THE KNOWLEDGE INCREASING, US LEARNING MORE ABOUT THESE METROS AND THESE OTHER COMMUNITIES, LEARNING ABOUT SAN ANTONIO'S ASSETS. UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR CONSULAR CORES IN SAN ANTONIO CONTINUE TO GROW. WE KNOW THAT'S AN IMPORTANT CONNECTION WITH THESE, UM, COUNTRIES. SO WHERE WE CAN, WE WANNA CONTINUE TO GROW THAT AS WELL. AGAIN, EXPORTS, NONSTOP FLIGHTS, JOBS AND INVESTMENT. THIS IS WHERE WE'RE DRIVING THIS WORK, UM, BECAUSE THAT, THOSE ARE ULTIMATELY THE OUTCOMES THAT WE WANNA SEE. WE KNOW THERE'S A LOT THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN BEFORE ANY OF THOSE THINGS MATERIALIZE. BUT THIS TO STAGE THAT WORK, THAT ACTUALLY CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ALEX, FOR, UH, THE PRESENTATION AND OUR STRATEGIES FOR OUR, UH, METRO PRIORITY PLAN AND HAVING THE TACTICS, UH, AS WELL AS THE, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN OUR NEXT STEPS. UM, SO I'M GONNA START WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE OVER HERE, A COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, BECAUSE SOME MAY HAVE TO LEAVE EARLY. SO, COUNCIL MEMBER C VARDA. THANK YOU. I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. UM, WHAT'S THE TIMELINE FOR MOVING FROM, OR THE INDICATORS FOR MOVING FROM ONE STAGE TO THE NEXT? THEY WILL VARY. THERE'S SOME COMMUNITIES THAT QUICKLY WENT THROUGH STAGES. FOR EXAMPLE, D WE, THEY JUST RECENTLY, MAYBE WITHIN THE PAST TWO YEARS BECAME A A SISTER CITY. BUT WE'VE SEEN THE TOP, WE'VE SEEN THE TIES QUICKLY GROW. UM, SO THAT ONE QUICKLY WENT TO STAGE TWO. SOME WILL WILL BE IN THAT INCUBATION PHASE A LITTLE BIT LONGER. UM, AND WE DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA SAY THEY HAVE TO MOVE THROUGH A CERTAIN, LIKE WITHIN TWO YEARS OR THREE YEARS. UM, THERE IT'LL BE MORE OF A, OF A, UM, EVOLUTION. SO, SO IS THERE SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOUGH? I I CAN UNDERSTAND THE TIMELINE PART, BUT THE INDICATORS TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STEP? YES. OKAY. THOSE ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT ONCE WE SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, MOUS STARTING TO BE DEVELOPED ONCE WE SEE UNIVERSITY TO UNIVERSITY COLLABORATION, OKAY. IT MIGHT BE TIME FOR US TO START ENCOURAGING THE NEXT SET OF TACTICS IN A COMMUNITY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR. MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. COUNCIL, COUNCILMAN, COURAGE. THANK YOU. I THOUGHT, UH, THE TRIP WE JUST RETURNED FROM WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL. I THINK WE MADE SOME GOOD CONTACTS. I WANNA, UH, COMMEND THE INTERNATIONAL STAFF FOR DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB OF PUTTING IT TOGETHER. AND I KNOW ONE KEY THING THAT, THAT SHERRY SAID THEY WERE GONNA FOLLOW UP ON, AND THAT'S CONTINUING THE COMMUNICATION WITH ALL THE PEOPLE WE MET SIMPLY BY SENDING A, A THANK YOU CARD, LETTING THEM KNOW THAT WE REALLY ENJOYED MEETING THEM. AND I KNOW [00:25:01] IN THOSE CARDS, EXTENDING INVITATIONS FOR THOSE SAME PEOPLE TO COME TO SAN ANTONIO. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT I THINK IS GOING TO BE THE KIND OF STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE, UH, IN ORDER TO, UH, MORE DEEPLY DEVELOP THOSE RELATIONSHIPS. AND, UH, I WOULD JUST HOPE THAT ALL OF THE COUNCIL CONTINUES TO BE INFORMED WHENEVER THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH A GROUP THAT'S COMING IN. UH, NOT ALL OF US MAY GET TO GO TO ANY OF THESE PARTICULAR CITIES AND MAKE CONTACTS, BUT I'LL BET ALL OF US WOULD HAVE AN INTEREST IN TRYING TO ENHANCE THE CITY'S CONTACT BY GOING VISITING WITH THESE PEOPLE, EXTENDING OUR HOSPITALITY, AND MAYBE OCCASIONALLY, UH, SAYING SOMETHING IN THEIR EAR THAT MIGHT CREATE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, YOU KNOW, RE OF A RELATIONSHIP. UH, I DON'T SEE, UH, JENNA OR ANYBODY FROM E D F HERE. WE ACTUALLY HAVE SARAH SANCHEZ. SARAH, I'M SORRY, SARAH. I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU. GOOD. UM, AND I, I'M ASSUMING ALL OF THIS IS TOTALLY PUT INTO, YOU KNOW, THEIR PLAN, THEIR GAME PLAN AND EVERYTHING. THAT'S GOOD. I, I WON'T SPEAK FOR SARAH. YOU'RE CERTAINLY WELCOME TO COME UP AND, AND ALSO ADD TO THIS. WHAT I WILL ADD, WELL, I WILL START WITH IS THE, THE FACT THAT ALL OF THIS WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, AMY AND SHERRY ARE CONSTANTLY COORDINATING WITH SARAH ON THIS. UM, EVEN THE PRIORITIZATION PROCESS THAT WE'VE GO, WE WENT THROUGH, WE DID ALL OF THAT IN COLLABORATION WITH E D F. I THINK THERE'S GONNA BE SOME COMPONENTS OF OUR STRATEGY, UM, IN PARTICULAR MORE OF THE CULTURE DIPLOMACY THAT MAY NOT DIRECTLY ALIGN WITH E D F. UM, BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT OF CROSS COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITY BETWEEN US, AND THAT'S WHAT WE HOPE TO, TO MAINTAIN ALIGNMENT WITH. RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALEX. IF I JUST MAY ADD, UM, ON BEHALF OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, IT'S OUR PLEASURE TO BE HERE AND TO WORK HAND IN HAND WITH ALEX AND HERD TEAM AS IT RELATES TO THE F D I AND TRADE STRATEGIES FOR THE METROS IDENTIFIED. UM, ALL OF THIS WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I JUST WANNA ALSO SAY THAT THIS IS A GREAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, I KNOW THAT SHERRY AND THE STAFF DID A VERY GOOD JOB OF CREATING A BOOK FOR US, UH, FOR US TO LOOK THROUGH THAT KIND OF LAID OUT A LOT OF THIS. BUT I, I HOPE THAT ANY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, WILL LOOK AT THIS SO THAT IF ANY OF US HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO ANYWHERE OR EVEN JUST TALK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING HERE FROM ANY OF THESE CITIES, THAT WE'RE AWARE OF SOME OF THESE PRIORITIES AND THESE STRATEGIES AND THESE THINGS THAT WE WANNA IMPLEMENT TO PERPETUATE THE RELATIONSHIPS. BUT GREAT JOB ON THIS. THANK YOU, ALEX. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER PERIS. YES. THANK YOU. SO, THANKS. THIS IS EXCELLENT. AND YOU AND I SPOKE YESTERDAY. AND AMY, THANKS FOR YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS. UH, WHAT, WHEN YOU SAY FOCUS ON TRADE WITH MEXICO, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU IN PRACTICAL DAY-TO-DAY TERMS? AND TO WHAT EXTENT CAN YOU POINT TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR WHICH YOUR DEPARTMENT CAN, YOU KNOW, TAKE CREDIT FOR? RIGHT. AS FAR AS TRADE? UH, 'CAUSE I, I, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THAT, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH OF YOUR BANDWIDTH HAS TAKEN UP ON PROMOTING TRADE. I THINK WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE MORE OF OR MAYBE, UM, WE'RE JUST BECOMING MORE AWARE OF THE, THE, WE ALWAYS KNEW THERE WAS A LOT OF COLLABORATION COORDINATION THAT CASA SAN ANTONIO WAS DOING FOR SAN ANTONIO BUSINESSES THAT WERE WANTING TO ENTER THE MEXICAN MARKET AND VICE VERSA. I THINK I'M PARTICULARLY EXCITED TO SEE SMALL AND MID-SIZE BUSINESSES EXPLORING THIS THROUGH THE SUPPORT FROM, FROM OUR OFFICE. UM, I THINK THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT, UH, SAN ANTONIO COMPANIES THAT ARE LOOKING AT MEXICO AS A MARKET. YEAH. SO I'M, I'M I, AND I GET IT, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OUTBOUND, RIGHT? I'M TALKING ABOUT TRADE IN, ITS SORT OF, ITS TRADITIONAL DEFINITION, RIGHT? WHICH IS EX, YOU KNOW, BACK AND FORTH, YOU KNOW, SHIPPING OF GOODS. RIGHT? UM, SO TO WHAT EXTENT DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT HANDLE THAT AND WHAT, WHAT LIKE, SORT OF SUCCESS EVIDENCE CAN YOU GUYS POINT TO OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? AGAIN, OUR PRIORITY AND MOST OF OUR WORK HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH CASA SAN ANTONIO. UM, AND THEN IN SPECIFIC, WHEN THERE'S PARTICULAR PROJECTS, WE KNOW THAT, UH, FROM A TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, WHEN WE'RE RECRUITING CERTAIN COMPANIES OR WHEN WE'RE IDENTIFYING, UM, THAT TYPE OF COLLABORATION, WE KNOW THAT THE PROXIMITY TO MEXICO HAS BEEN A PART OF ONE OF THEIR CONSIDERATIONS. SO THAT'S WHERE THE GEOGRAPHY IS STILL SOMETHING WE CONSIDER AND WHY WE WANNA STILL CONTINUE TO FOSTER, UM, THAT COLLABORATION WITH [00:30:01] MEXICO. UM, SPECIFICS FROM OUR OFFICE, WE DON'T NECESSARILY, WE, WE PROB WE DO TRACK HOW MANY BUSINESSES WE HELP, UM, BUT WE DON'T NECESSARILY SURVEY FOR LIKE JOBS CREATED, RIGHT? OR THAT, THAT TYPE OF OUTCOME. AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S I GUESS THE METRICS WE USE, RIGHT? TO DETERMINE SUCCESS IS NOT HOW OFTEN YOU GUYS TOUCH SOMEBODY, BUT WHAT ARE THE SUCCESS STORIES, RIGHT? EXACTLY. AND SO, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO INBOUND, I'M SURE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE PLENTY OF SUCCESS STORIES TO TELL, YOU KNOW, AND YOU KNOW, THIS LAST ONE, NAVISTAR, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE OTHERS ARE EXAMPLES OF THAT. WE MEASURE THAT BY WAY OF JOBS CAPITAL INVESTMENT, RIGHT? AND HOW MANY, I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, HOW MANY DOLLARS WERE LANDED WITH A SPECIFIC BIG SALE OR GRANT OR WHATEVER IT IS THEY DO. AND SO I'M, I'M CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT OUR TRADE NUMBERS IS. AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT SAN ANTONIO AS A REGION. I'M TALKING, AND, AND I'M REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAD AN IMPACT, RIGHT? ARE WE, ARE WE A MEASURABLE WIND IN THE SAILS AS FAR AS, UH, TRADE IS CONCERNED? OR ARE WE, DO WE THINK WE ARE WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE? RIGHT? AND THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IS HARD EVIDENCE. SO I, I MEAN, AND I'M, I'M PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT. I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS JUST TOOK OVER THIS DEPARTMENT, BUT, UH, I'M, I'M HOPING THAT AT SOME POINT WE CAN HEAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THOSE METRICS ARE, RIGHT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, UH, JENNA COMES IN AND TAKES CREDIT FOR A LOT OF WORK, AND THEN YOU GUYS TAKE CREDIT FOR A LOT OF WORK. AND I'M ALWAYS LEFT WONDERING WHO DID WHAT, RIGHT? AND WHO IS, TO WHAT EXTENT ARE YOU LIFTING VERSUS HER TEAM, OR IS THE COUNTY'S TEAM LIFTING MORE? AND I MEAN, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING TO FIGURE OUT, RIGHT? UH, IS HOW MUCH ARE WE SPENDING ON YOUR DEPARTMENT AND WHAT IS IT YOU ARE DELIVERING YOU SPECIFICALLY YOUR TEAM, RIGHT? AS OPPOSED TO THIS COLLABORATIVE MODEL, WHICH IS GREAT, COLLABORATE ALL YOU WANT, BUT I'M STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT IS FOR EACH ONE OF OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR EFFORTS. THE, THE OTHER THING, UM, IS I KNOW THAT WE KEEP, YOU KNOW, THESE FRIENDSHIP AGREEMENTS ARE IMPORTANT AND ALL THAT. HOW MANY HAVE WE SIGNED WITH MEXICO CITY? DO WE, I MEAN, DO YOU GUYS KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY WE GOT ON FILE? HOW MANY FRIENDSHIP CITY AGREEMENTS WE HAVE? WE HAVE THREE FRIENDSHIPS, BUT WITH MEXICO WE HAVE, WE JUST SIGNED FRIENDSHIPS. OKAY. WE JUST HAVE THE ONE. YEAH. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND THEN LASTLY, UM, I IMAGINE, SHERRY, THAT PART OF THIS IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, DROPPING IN ON EMBASSIES AND ALL THAT DURING STATE OF DC, UM, AND TALKING TO, YOU KNOW, THE POINTY END OF THE STICK AS FAR AS REPRESENTATIVES GO FOR THOSE INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES, RIGHT? YES. IN TERMS OF OUR RELATIONSHIP BUILDING OUTREACH, WE DO, WE, WE HAVE THE DIFFERENT PILLARS DEFINITELY THROUGH THE, UH, STATE DEPARTMENT, OUR STATE DEPARTMENT, AND THROUGH THE CONSULATES AND EMBASSIES THAT WE HAVE IN OTHER COUNTRIES, VICE VERSA, THROUGH THE CONSULATES AND EMBASSIES THAT OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE IN OUR COUNTRY. THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, I WOULD SAY STRAND WITHIN OUR RELATIONSHIP BUILDING. WE FOCUS THAT, UH, IT'S A PRIORITY IN OUR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. AND AGAIN, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN SA TO DC WITH A FOCUS ON WORKING WITH THE FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC CORE. AND, AND THEN IN TERMS OF OTHER, UH, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, THEN IT GOES BACK TO THE TARGET CITIES OR COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE HISTORICALLY BUILT, UH, RELATIONSHIPS OR RECENTLY STRATEGICALLY BUILT RELATIONSHIPS. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, GERALD. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER. UM, I, I WANNA FOLLOW UP ON THE, THE TRADE AND THE EXCHANGE SPECIFICALLY ON SMALL BUSINESSES. UM, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME WITH WAS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GROWING, THEY'RE SMALL BUSINESSES, THEY'RE GROWING, THEY DO MANUFACTURING. HOW DO THEY BREAK IN, IF YOU WILL, TO THIS, UH, TO THE RELATIONSHIPS AND TO GETTING INTO THOSE NETWORKS HERE? IS THAT WITH AND THROUGH, UM, S A E D F? IS IT WITH, UM, AMY WILL COME UP AND SHARE . SHE HAS LOTS OF EXPERIENCES. GREAT. MM-HMM. , YES. AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING MORE ON AS PART OF OUR FOCUS IN THIS STRATEGY BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S INCLUDED AND WE'VE TAKEN TO HEART THE EQUITY DISCUSSIONS THAT YOU'VE BEEN HAVING AS A COUNCIL. UM, BUT THERE ARE QUITE A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS THEY CAN BE ASSISTED. ONE OF THEM IS THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION THAT RECENTLY TOOK OVER THE FREE TRADE ALLIANCE. SO THEY HAVE EXPORT ASSISTANCE. ANOTHER ONE IS THE U T S A SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER THAT HAS AN INTERNATIONAL COMPONENT. UM, THAT'S THE MAIN ONE. AND THERE'S ALSO THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY. I THINK IT'S S B A SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MAYBE THAT'S FEDERAL, BUT IT'S BASED HERE. AND THEY HAVE ASSISTANCE THAT IS DIRECTED PARTICULARLY TOWARDS SMALL BUSINESSES THAT WANNA DO EXPORTS. AND THAT'S, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THESE PRIORITIES, WE'RE LOOKING MAINLY AT FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT. BUT WITH CANADA AND MEXICO, WE HAVE TO TAKE [00:35:01] ADVANTAGE OF U S M C A, WE HAVE TO IN, YOU KNOW, INCLUDE OUR SMALL BUSINESSES. SO THAT'S GONNA BE A MAJOR POINT GOING FORWARD, EVEN IF IT HASN'T BEEN COMING TO DATE. FANTASTIC. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND I THINK THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT. I KNOW A COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ADRIAN ROJA GARCIA HAD PUT SOMETHING FORWARD ABOUT A SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM SBA C. UM, AND I THINK WITH THAT, LET'S SEE WHERE WE CAN HAVE AND CONTINUE TO GROW THAT TO HAVE THESE EXCHANGES OR THE, UM, IMPORT AND EXPORT WHEN IT COMES TO THE U S M C A IN THE FUTURE, TO GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OUR SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO TO LEVERAGE THAT. UM, SPEAKING OF LEVERAGING, SARAH, I, I KNOW I SAID THIS BEFORE AND I'LL SHARE IT AGAIN, IS I THINK WE NEED TO DO, UM, MORE WITH THE INTERNATIONAL, UH, BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WE HAVE ABOUT LEVERAGING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND ALL THOSE NETWORKS AND CONNECTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THAT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO REALLY, NOW THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH TO JAPAN AND TO, UH, KOREA, WHERE ARE THOSE NATURAL RELATIONSHIPS AND ALIGNMENTS THAT WE CAN FIND WITH OUR LOCAL, UM, MEMBERS WHO ARE PART OF THE S A E D F AND THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND SEE WHERE WE CAN OPEN MORE DOORS IN THAT LINE OF COMMUNICATION. AND FOR MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UM, TO THE POINT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, TIMING OF RELATIONSHIP BUILDING. I KNOW ONE OF THE BIG TAKEAWAYS THAT WE HEARD FROM JAPAN FROM KUMAMOTO, AS WELL AS FROM KOREA, WAS, UM, THE ROLE THAT POTENTIALLY COMMUNITY COLLEGES COULD PLAY WITH SAN ANTONIO IN BUILDING THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNITY COLLEGES. WE THINK OF OUR FOUR YEAR UNIVERSITIES, BUT I KNOW SOME OF THE COUNTRIES ARE ALREADY LOOKING AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES, SPECIFICALLY IN KOREA, WHERE IT'S VERY COMPETITIVE IN THEIR EDUCATION AND HOW THEY CAN LOOK IN ALIGNMENT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, WITH OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE. AND THAT ACTUALLY CAME FROM OUR STATE DEPARTMENT TOO, WITH THAT CONVERSATION. AND THEN, UM, I REALLY LIKE YOUR IDEA ABOUT THE SLIDE 16, THE PREPARE AND INTERNATIONAL GUIDE. I THINK, UH, TO DO BUSINESS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, I THINK THAT COULD BE VERY HELPFUL. AND, UM, HELPING PEOPLE AVOID THOSE, UM, THOSE PITFALLS THAT MAY BE THERE. AND IT JUST IS, IS SIMPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN KEEP IT SIMPLE. AND ALSO THE WHOLE NARRATIVE OF CHANGING KNOWLEDGE CHANGE THE KNOWLEDGE BASE ABOUT SAN ANTONIO AND FOR SAN ANTONIANS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER COMMUNITIES AND OTHER CITIES. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL OF THIS AND OUR NEXT STEPS OF EXPANDING EXCHANGE AND INCREASE. UM, ARE WE GOING TO TAKE THIS TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL FROM THE FULL COUNCIL? OR IS THIS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING BASED? WHAT THE LAST PIECE WE WERE DOING IS JUST FEEDBACK FROM THIS COMMITTEE. OKAY. UM, WE HAD NOT PLANNED FULL COUNCIL APPROVAL. MM-HMM. , IT DOESN'T REALLY REQUIRE COUNCIL ACTION. OKAY. THERE WILL BE SOME TACTICS THAT IN ORDER FOR US TO EXECUTE THEM, THERE MAY BE COUNCIL ACTION REQUIRED. SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE THIS CONTEXT FIRST. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD HOW, UM, SS A E D F WILL ALSO INCORPORATE THIS INTO THEIR, THEIR FINDINGS. ONE LAST THING I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU ALL, UH, TO MY COLLEAGUES AND TO THOSE WHO WERE ON THE TRIPS, UM, YOU ALL, WHO WERE AT LEAST THERE IN KUMAMOTO, MET ONE OF OUR, UM, THE MEMBERS THERE, WALTER, WHO WAS THERE, A TEXAN AMERICAN WHO WAS TRANSLATING FOR US. UM, I, I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT THE DIPLOMATIC WORK THAT WE DO AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS. AND I THINK SOMETHING THAT I TOOK FOR GRANTED, BUT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL, I DON'T KNOW IF HE SHARED THE SAME SENTIMENT WITH YOU ALL. HE SAID THAT, UM, HE COULD NOT EXPRESS IN WORDS HOW RELIEVING IT WAS FOR ME FOR HIM TO HOST SUCH ADEPT AND COURTEOUS AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVES AS YOURSELVES IN A TIME WHERE DIVISIVENESS AND FEUDS DOMINATE BROADCASTS ON EVERY PLATFORM. THE EXAMPLE Y'ALL SET THROUGH YOUR RECEPTIVITY AND WARMTH MADE ME FEEL QUI QUITE PROUD OF MY COUNTRY AND MY HOME STATE. SO, UM, I THINK FOR US, WHEN WE GO AND THE, THE WORK THAT WE DO TOGETHER, IT GOES EVEN FAR BEYOND THAN WHAT WE'RE, WE JUST THINK. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER? ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND YOU ALL, THAT IS THE ONLY ITEM ON OUR AGENDA. ONE THING I DID WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UH, TO MY COLLEAGUES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WILL BE, I'LL BE MEETING WITH YOU ALL TO TALK ABOUT JUST THE NEXT THINGS THAT ARE COMING UP TO THE E W D C. UM, FIRST HAS TO GO THROUGH GOVERNANCE. SOME OF THE, UM, ITEMS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH CCRS, WE'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH GOVERNANCE, AND THEN THEY'LL PROBABLY BE COMING ONTO OUR AGENDA IN THE FUTURE. BUT [00:40:01] IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS, UM, I'LL BE LOOSE, SITTING DOWN AND TALKING WITH EACH OF Y'ALL TO GET THOSE CONVERSATIONS GOING. SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH AND HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON. OH, YES. ONE MORE THING. YES, COUNCILMAN? I JUST WANTED TO ASK SHERRY, UH, WHAT KIND OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS ARE PENDING AS FAR AS MEETINGS, DELEGATIONS, COMING, ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING ON OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS? UH, WELL, AS WE SPEAK, WE HAVE A DELEGATION HERE FROM OUR SISTER CITY, WSI CHINA. THEY'RE, THEY ARRIVED LAST NIGHT AND THEY'RE HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL PRESENTATION OF THE, AND UNVEILING OF THE, UH, SCHOLARS ROCK AT THE SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART TOMORROW NIGHT. IT'S CALLED THE TAHU ROCK. AND THIS IS, UH, A, A VERY SPECIAL GIFT THAT WSI PRESENTED TO SAN ANTONIO IN THE CARE OF THE SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART. SO THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE OF A DELEGATION. UH, I'D, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT WE'VE HAD A DELEGATION FOR THE LAST FOUR WEEKS, ONE A WEEK FOR THE LAST FOUR WEEKS. WE HAD A DELEGATION FROM TOKYO, JAPAN LAST WEEK, UH, WHO WERE HERE. UH, BASICALLY THEY ARE PART OF THE TOKYO METROPOLITAN CITY PREPARING FOR THE OLYMPICS. AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT SPECIFIC CITIES WITH RIVERS TO SEE HOW WE ARE LEVERAGING OUR RIVERS FOR TOURISM. SO WE HAD A DELEGATION HERE FOR THREE DAYS, EVALUATING AND WORKING WITH OUR RIVER AUTHORITY ON THE RIVERS. AND THE WEEK BEFORE THAT, WE HAD A DELEGATION FROM NANJING, CHINA, ALSO HERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR RIVER, UH, AUTHORITIES. AND SO, SO THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. AND AS WE GO INTO NEXT WEEK, WE'RE PREPARING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM THAT E D F IS PRESENTING, AND WE WORK WITH E D F VERY CLOSELY AS WELL AS THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL TO PUT ON A PROGRAM, UH, EXACTLY LEVERAGING OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE CONSULAR CORPS AND THE TRADE COMMISSIONERS AND FOREIGN COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES, AND INVITING ALL OF THEM TO COME TO SAN ANTONIO TO BE AT THE FORUM, TO BE AT THE RECEPTION OF THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL TO, AND WE'VE EVEN ARRANGED A MEETING FOR THEM, A TOUR AT U T S A AS A KIND OF ONE DAY, UH, VISIT, JUST TO TRY AND CONTINUE TO PROMOTE SAN ANTONIO TO THESE FOREIGN COUNTRIES. AND IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, IT ISN'T TARGET COUNTRY FOCUSED ONLY, IT'S, WE OPEN IT UP TO ALL THE CONSULAR CORE. AND SO THAT WE EXPECT ABOUT 15 TO 20 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED HERE NEXT WEEK, UH, DURING THOSE ACTIVITIES. SO, SO THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON. COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU. FOR SURE. THANK YOU, AMY. IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'LL JUST ADD ONE MORE. WE ALSO HAVE THE K DOWN IN U S A JAPAN BUSINESS FEDERATION THAT'S COMING TO TOWN. AND THAT IS BASICALLY A RESULT OF THE JAPAN TEXAS SUMMIT THAT WE HOSTED HERE IN THE SPRING. AND SO THAT'S A, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND. THEY'RE DOING THE FIRST SERIES OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY, UH, SUMMIT. AND SO WE HAVE C P SS ENERGY AND SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE THAT ARE ALSO GONNA PRESENT ALONG WITH FOUR MAJOR JAPANESE COMPANIES. THAT'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. THANK YOU ALL, AND HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.