President O’Connell Addresses US & Mexican Legistlators at 47th Interparliamentary Meeting

Published by Policy. June 16, 2008 at 11:58 pm in Legislation, Press Releases.

June 7th, 2008, Monterrey, Mexico - In a landmark achievement, BTA President O’Connell was one of the first ever non-governmental leaders to speak before the US & Mexican Legistlators at 47th Interparliamentary Meeting in Mexico in its long and prestigious history. The purpose of the bi-national gathering of legislators was to define ways to contribute and consolidate the relationship between our two countries and generate progress and development in the region.

O’Connell addressed specific areas in which bi-national legislative efforts were necessary to enhancing North American competitiveness, removing barriers to shared prosperity, and improving the environment for cooperative cross-border trade. She made legislative recommendations on topics such us infrastructure, transparency of regulations, public safety, and the need to have a more realistic management of expectations when it comes to balancing security and economic security. Urging cooperation and fore-thought, O’Connell stressed the potential implications on our North American economies if we fail to adequately address today’s critical issues at our borders.

Following the presentation, President O’Connell established an agreement with the legislators to communicate directly with BTA to further the discussion and collaborate on shaping future legislative efforts.

Milestones from the 47th meeting included:

Congressmen from Mexico and the United States agreed on the condition of the dismissal of the Merida initiative an during the inauguration of the Interparliamentary Meeting.

On the issue of migration the Mexican delegation worked to see that “there is a legal contract for Mexican workers, who were granted benefits and would be treated with dignity.â€