LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today that his 10-day Asia trade mission finished with a stop in Hong Kong, where he and his delegation met with local government and business leaders and focused on boosting jobs and promoting stronger ties with some of the city's top trade partners.
"The more Los Angeles engages with the world, the stronger our economy will be at home,” Garcetti said. ``From our first stop in Tokyo to our last in Hong Kong, our delegation was focused on bringing investment to L.A.'s neighborhoods that will create jobs for Angelenos, strengthen our connections abroad, and build prosperity for workers, families, and communities on both sides of the Pacific. I am grateful to our hosts for their extraordinary hospitality and their enthusiasm for expanding the economic, cultural, and personal ties that bind our nations together.”
Anna Bahr, a spokeswoman for Garcetti, said the trade mission wrapped up on Thursday and Garcetti would be taking a few personal days before returning to Los Angeles, although she did not know if he would remain in Asia for the personal days.
Officials with the mayor's office said the final stop of the trip in Hong Kong resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the World Trade Center Los Angeles and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to exchange information and support business cooperation between the two cities, as the HKTDC is starting a year-long promotional campaign in L.A. before sending a delegation to Los Angeles in September 2019.
Garcetti also met with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Secretary of the Environment Wong Kam-sing, and his office said they discussed best practices and future collaboration around trade, affordable housing and environmental issues.
Officials with Garcetti's office also said he met with executives from Modern Terminals and Hongkong International Terminals to discuss supply chain optimization, cyber security, and environmental issues. Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, and Ed Renwick of the Board of Harbor Commissioners held 14 additional meetings with port customers across Asia, and Los Angeles officials said they obtained commitments from Ocean Network Express and Evergreen Marine to share data on the GE Port Optimizer, a digital tool that aims to improve cargo movement that was created through a partnership between POLA and GE Transportation.
Garcetti and the business delegation also met with executives from numerous companies during the trip, including Asia Financial Holdings, United Overseas Investments, International Equities, WardFerry, Orient Overseas Container Line, AML Holdings and others.
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