Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN - The two co-chairs of the Border Legislators Conference's two-day regional economic development forum expressed delight at the quality and depth of the panel discussions held and the actions that resulted.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said the quality of the presentations was "outstanding." He said that many concrete proposals had emerged in the areas of secure manufacturing zones, border crossings, and high priority corridors, and that these would be taken up when the full BLC meets in El Paso in November.

"It is clear from the demographics that the 50 million people that live along the border are going to be driving the political and economic path of North America in the future," Shapleigh said. "When you look at Mexico, it is the six border states that are the economic engines. We must not allow our visions imposed on us by others.

Senador Jeffrey Jones, a PAN legislator from Chihuahua and chair of the Mexican Senate's border affairs committee, agreed. Jones said the forum had highlighted the need for U.S.-Mexico border region leaders to set their own agenda.

Jones said bi-national cooperation had to go far beyond NAFTA, which he described as little more than a letter of intent. Jones said Mexico, the United States and Canada needed to have a permanent transportation-working group.

"As leaders in the region, we need to start thinking about North America as a whole," Jones said. "There should be a lot more people sitting at these tables. Our federal legislators need to be listening to these ideas."

The Border Legislators Conference comprises state representatives and senators from the ten states along the U.S.-Mexico border. The two-day forum at the Hilton Hotel heard panel discussions on secure manufacturing zones, border crossings, and high priority corridors.

Both Shapleigh and Jones said they would make sure that groups like the Inter-Parliamentary Committee take up the actions agreed at the forum.

Shapleigh told the Guardian that El Paso and Juárez leaders were working to create an appealing environment for high-tech manufacturers seeking streamlined access to just-in-time markets. He said the forum helped by focusing on issues that would help achieve that goal.

To attract new industries, Shapleigh said, leaders had to work to promote the advantages of cross-border manufacturing operations by easing border congestion, streamlining border inspections, and creating tax incentives.

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said the forum took on substantive issues that needed to be tackled. When he was BLC chair, Wentworth changed the group's rules to ensure that meetings and chairmanships were rotated to ensure equality between the member states.

"This is a vibrant growing area that needs to be represented. Its needs need to be heard by more people," Wentworth said. "This forum has helped. The ideas discussed are among the most substantive I've heard at a border summit."

Diputado Roberto Cáxares Quintana, a state representative from Chihuahua, said it was important that the issues discussed at the forum were disseminated to as wide an audience as possible.

"I think leaders along the border region have started to realize the capacity they have within them to take the lead," Cáxares said. "The goal now is to work within the laws and rules of all the governing bodies that affect the border to facilitate the ideas that have been identified. It was a very productive forum."