SANTA FE, N.M. – The State of New Mexico sent a delegation to Chihuahua, Mexico and met with U.S Ambassador Kenneth Salazar about trade and infrastructure development issues along the international border.

Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes, Joseph De La Rosa, special project coordinator at the Department of Transportation, and Marco Grajeda, director of the New Mexico Border Authority, represented New Mexico at the Tuesday event in Chihuahua.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, hosted the delegation, which focused on infrastructure development along the Texas-New Mexico-Chihuahua border. Attendees included officials from New Mexico, Texas, the State of Chihuahua, U.S. Members of Congress, and the Mexican federal government.

Boosting global trade is an administration priority for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and investing in Borderzone infrastructure has helped attract businesses to Doña Ana County, home to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.

The region is attracting attention from global companies seeking logistical solutions to supply chain and transportation challenges.

“Our goal in meeting with the Ambassador and border partners was to express our shared vision for bi-national border with a growing and integrated economy,” EDD Secretary Keyes said.

The fast and efficient connectivity to Mexico and the rest of the United States, coupled with the competitive production costs, is making Santa Teresa the fastest growing industrial base on the U.S.-Mexico border as companies look to locate manufacturing and distribution centers to North America.

Three Taiwan companies in the past two years have announced new business investments in Santa Teresa and two Chihuahua food distributors have opened operations. One firm is planning a cross-border business with the co-location of management and administrative offices in New Mexico and full-scale production in Chihuahua.

The region is also attracting interest from companies in the industrial Midwest. PRENT, a Wisconsin-based company with a global footprint in thermoform packaging, is bringing 85 new jobs to Santa Teresa.

Gov. Lujan Grisham has authorized a needs analysis for the region to determine priority investments for new transportation and infrastructure that will speed commercial traffic and improve commute times for workers.