Consul has high hopes

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jan 27, 2005 by Deborah Bulkeley Deseret Morning News

Salt Lake City's new Mexican Consul Salvador Jimenez has been on the job for just more than a week, and he's already looking at ways to build economic ties between Mexico and Utah.

There's a need in Mexico for Utah's blossoming "high technology" industry, and the state is a "beautiful place" that could attract tourism from Mexico, Jimenez says. He also sees potential for educational and cultural exchanges.

"The level of commerce going on now is not at the level we wish it would be," he says. "That's why we'll push very hard in that direction."

Just as important as economic ties are cultural ones, says Jimenez. He plans on bringing cultural exhibits and promoting educational exchanges. The goal, he says: "Making our heritage better known."

Jimenez's immediate goal is securing a visit by President Vicente Fox, who travels with a delegation that includes business executives. If the visit is confirmed, it will be sometime this summer, he says.

"It will be the main way to promote these ideas," Jimenez says. "Most important, it's a way to promote community and economic development that is driving the business community."

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has also placed an emphasis on the economy. The governor says he will personally handle the state's economic development efforts, including international trade.

Economic development's move from the Department of Community and Economic Development to Huntsman's office would require legislative approval.

Ladd Christensen, Huntsman's co-director of business and economic development, says he's focusing on international business development and is currently working on a study of which global markets to target.

"We're all in concurrence, you can't shotgun the world," Christensen says. "We want to identify targets with the greatest potential for our economy."

Also, there are markets that are "clearly becoming the economies of tomorrow," including China, India, Singapore and Japan, he says.

"If we take Mexico, which may be developing less quickly, one thing we have to clearly consider is that they are our neighbors," Christensen says. "It's important to develop a relationship."

Christensen says Huntsman's public career includes foreign service, which lends itself well to building international ties.

"Some of the major leaguers in China have been incredibly impressed," Christensen says of the governor's fluency in Mandarin Chinese.

Huntsman resigned his trade ambassadorship in President Bush's administration to return to Utah to run for governor. He was also in charge of Asian trade work for the first President Bush and served as U.S. ambassador to Singapore.

While he doesn't have details yet, Christensen says Utah can expect to see several high-profile visitors from abroad in the coming year.

Joe Reyna, chairman-elect of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Utah's only member of President Fox's Mexico Advisory Counsel, agrees that Utah could do better in trade with Mexico.

Reyna said Utah's estimated $111 million in trade with Mexico is "very low."

"Utah has a lot of technology to offer," Reyna said. "I think we have the potential, it's just that we haven't explored it."

Jimenez says his life has been a multicultural experience. His wife, Claudia, is a U.S. citizen. During his 30 years with the Mexican Foreign Service, Jimenez has served in several locations across Latin America.

Jimenez has worked in Washington, D.C. He comes to Utah directly from the world's largest Mexican consulate in Los Angeles, where he was deputy director.

He says that office serves an average of 1,000 people a day. He comes to a broader, but quieter, region. His staff of 16 is charged with protecting the interest of Mexican citizens in Utah, Idaho, Montana and western Wyoming.

"I am used to working hard," he says. "I will continue to work hard, and harder."

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com