Sea of ​​Cortez Forum articulates regional economic agenda

Los Cabos, BCS. The articulation of a regional economic agenda is one of the objectives of the Summit 2022 Mission Prosperity, which is part of the second edition of Foro Mar de Cortés.

This region becomes relevant due to its weight in the Mexican economy. The five states considered, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit, contribute 11% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

During the last year, the economic activity of the entities of the Sea of ​​Cortez registered an average growth of 5.6%, against 2.4% at the national level.

In formal employment, it participates with 12.4% of the country’s total, with 11.1% of Foreign Direct Investment, with 14.6% of Mexican exports and with 9.1% of federalized spending.

In an interview with El Economista, Javier Gaxiola Coppel, Sinaloa’s Secretary of Economy, said that the Mar de Cortés Forum, which began last year, “is taking shape,” and one of its functions is to articulate the different actors in life academic, economic, political, social, and ecological aspects of the five states.

“We are going to work together as a region, we have ecological issues, tourism, fishing, shrimp, oysters, seafood, agriculture, in common,” said the state official.

The event, he explained, is to work on a joint agenda for the development of the region, “here we are talking about an economic agenda in which companies, governments, academia, foundations can be linked, an economic agenda in which to promote the generation of employment”.

In addition to exploiting the fishing and agricultural vocations, with a vision of sustainability, the states of the Sea of ​​Cortez intend to detonate regional tourism, which participates with 9.4% of the country’s tourism GDP.

“Each state can contribute its best practices to the region and we all benefit. If tourists are in Los Cabos, let them jump to Sinaloa or Sonora, the region is taken advantage of, experiences are given,” said Gaxiola Coppel.

federal resources

By 2023, it is expected that the five states of the region will receive more than 221,000 million pesos of federal resources, which represents 9.1% of the total.

The Secretary of Economy of Sinaloa stressed that the Federation does turn to other regions of the country and not only to the Mexican southeast. “In the case of Sinaloa, the Santa María dam and the branches for the irrigation system of the Santa María and Picachos dams are among the most important projects of the federal government.”

“We have to learn as local governments, businessmen, academia, organizations, what comes from the federal government is welcome in infrastructure investment, we cannot depend on the federal government, we will continue to develop as a region,” he concluded.

Three projects at the door

Some of the advances of the Mar de Cortés Forum are three projects whose mission is to reduce environmental impacts in the region.

One of the projects is the Mar de Cortés Region Carbon Neutral Goal 2030, which seeks to promote a social-corporate strategy, through digital and innovative solutions to convert the region, which collectively and actively addresses the climate sustainability policies of the Nations United.

The second project is the SDG Action Manager tool, developed by B Lab, from Sistema B, and the United Nations Global Compact, in order to improve the sustainability performance of companies.

Lastly, the third project is the Center for Monitoring Prosperity in the Sea of ​​Cortez, whose purpose is to initiate the metrics and indicators of progress towards prosperity in the region.

Prosperity, the purpose

During the inauguration of the 2022 Mission Prosperity Summit, the honorary president of the Mar de Cortés Forum, Agustín Coppel Luken, assured that achieving regional prosperity is the purpose of this second edition, taking advantage of biodiversity and company innovations.

He pointed out that for the sustained growth of the region, the path is to scientifically know the area and the sea that unites the states of Baja California Sur, Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit, which register 77% of the fishing concentrated in the Ocean. Pacific and 80% of which comes from the Gulf of California.

“For this, we have to develop projects to care for the environment, for our privileged biodiversity, we also need more and better companies that produce sustainable products and services, some of them that do not yet exist, but that are already emerging, it is to advance in matters so complexes such as maintaining a healthy and fertile environment, that economic development is for everyone and that we achieve the challenge of eliminating poverty in the region”, said Coppel Luken.

“We don’t want poverty”

The Mar de Cortés Forum, added the honorary president, “is a meeting place to think, discuss, design and try to define a common future project in this incredible space such as the Gulf of California.”

“We do not want poverty in the Sea of ​​Cortez. Mar de Cortés must be a region where there is always something new to undertake, something valuable that we can look forward to in the present and in the future,” she stressed.

He clarified that through the Mar de Cortés Forum it is intended to link federal, state and municipal governments, society, community, academia and companies, applying the best national and international practices.

As well as defining the correct marine and agricultural production, building a regional tourism that respects the ecosystem, generating sustainable companies, attracting investments and establishing emblematic projects.

estados@eleconomista.mx