Houston's Diplomatic Engagements and Outbound Missions 2023

Dear Friends of the Mayor’s Office of Trade and International Affairs (MOTIA),

The City of Houston and MOTIA welcomed an extremely ambitious and successful global travel program in 2023, which found new economic and cultural engagement opportunities for Houstonians. In addition to welcoming delegations from all parts of the world, we led missions to nine countries, connecting with senior business and government leaders, attracting foreign direct investment to Houston, and creating opportunity to bring more businesses, conferences, and visitors to our great city.

With each of these international engagements, we seek to deliver on our global trade and diplomatic goals, which include a focus on increasing the visibility and positive perception of Houston as a global leader, attracting both established and start-up companies to Houston, promoting Houston exports abroad, and encouraging tourism to Houston. These trips build on Houston’s foreign policy to foster economic and urban development, with the underlying themes of equity, sustainable and resilient development, and the energy transition. We thank all of our partners, in Houston and around the globe, who help make these visits possible! We look forward to continue taking Houston to the world in 2024.

On February 22 and 23, Mayor Sylvester Turner visited the Ismaili Centre Toronto and the Aga Khan Council Canada in the City of Toronto, Canada to explore opportunities for collaboration and exchange in preparation for opening the new Ismaili Center in Houston. During the trip, our Houston delegation visited the Ismaili Centre Toronto, where we received a tour of the building and attended a reception hosted by the Ismaili Council for Canada. The trip was concluded with a guided tour to the Aga Khan Museum for a viewing of Afghanistan My Love, an exhibition that highlights Afghanistan as a place of cultural richness, diversity, and deep love. The new Ismaili Center Houston is scheduled to formally open in 2025 and will represent dialogue on pluralism, conversation among faith traditions, and the connection between humanity and nature.

The Ismaili community in Houston is a shining example of the values of service and caring for one's neighbor through their philanthropic efforts during some of Houston's most challenging times. On behalf of the City of Houston, we thank the Ismaili community for your friendship and support throughout the years. We look forward to the completion of the Center and thank you all our partners, friends, and volunteers from the Aga Khan Council Canada, Ismaili Centre Toronto, and Aga Khan Museum for making this trip a success. Read more

From April 22 - 28, the City of Houston, Greater Houston Partnership, and the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce led an impactful trade and investment mission to Brazil to reinforce
Houston's relationship with key allies, promote Houston as a leading global city, and establish new avenues for cooperation and investment in energy, manufacturing, technology, and trade. The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the busiest gateway for U.S.-Brazilian trade, and Brazil is Houston’s fourth largest international trading partner. From ’13 to ’22, trade between Houston and Brazil averaged $14.0 billion annually and was valued at $20.1 billion in ’22. More than 8,135 people living in metro Houston were born in Brazil.

Furthering the already strong partnership in energy, Houston met with senior representatives from Porto do Açu, Petrobras , Raízen, Radix Braskem, and Novonor to discuss how both Houston and Brazil are leading the energy transition, with an emphasis on bio-fuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. Industry and business meetings with Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo e Gás (IBP), the Brazilian National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the Industry Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FIRJAN), and Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo (Fiesp) found additional opportunities for Houston area businesses to further bi-lateral investment to create new economic opportunities. In addition to the fruitful economic opportunities, this the mission furthered Houston's strong global relationships at the federal, state, and municipal levels, including meetings with the Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy in São Paulo, and Governor and Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, plus numerous members of their cabinets. These meetings reinforced our mutual interest and focus on the energy transition, building urban resiliency, education, and climate action. Read more

From May 8-12, the City of Houston, Houston First Corporation, Greater Houston Partnership, and Texas Medical Center returned to Mexico to further build on the success of Houston Week 2022. Houston shares strong business and cultural ties with Mexico. According to the GHP, trade with Mexico continues to play a critical role in Houston's economy and was the region's largest international trade partner in 2022, with more than $32.1 billion in goods and services moved between Houston and Mexico. Nearly 600,000 of the broader region's residents were born in Mexico, and the region has more direct flights to Mexico than to any other country.

The Houston Week mission was designed to solidify Houston's position as a top city for global trade, tourism, business, and leisure travel from Mexico. This was the second consecutive year Houston has led a mission of this scale in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and Mexico City, Mexico. As part of the 2023 activations, the Houston delegation executed new cooperative agreements and drove strategic discussions with key Mexican diplomats and city leaders to address important issues impacting tourism, healthcare, life sciences, technology, innovation, sustainability, and aerospace in both regions. Included in these events was a new agreement between Tec de Monterrey and Space Center Houston to establish learning and research projects with students and professors.
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"Mexico and Houston are inextricably linked through our culture, business ties and tourism. I look forward to identifying new opportunities for collaboration and strengthening our partnerships," said Mayor Turner. " The success of last year's inaugural mission was largely driven by the frank conversations we were able to have with our friends in Mexico, and we want to continue building on that vital relationship as we work to identify new opportunities for growth, prosperity, and economic enterprise for both regions."

In July, on behalf of the City of Houston, MOTIA organized a large, multi-sector trade and investment mission to Africa led by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. This three-country mission to
Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana sought to foster government and business relationships between the City of Houston and these dynamic West African countries, build on existing relationships to explore new bi-lateral economic opportunities and strengthen cultural and civic engagement. During this mission, it was our absolute pleasure to meet with many high-level government officials, including Vice President and Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Côte d'Ivoire, separate meetings with the Ministers of Trade, Energy, and Tourism of Ghana, Mayor of Accra, separately with the Permanent Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Aviation of Nigeria, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, the head of the Import Export Bank of Nigeria, and many more. Our partners for the mission included Chevron, Halliburton, the Texas Medical Center, Port Houston, Houston Airport System, the U.S. Commercial Service, and many more.

Africa’s economy is one of the fast growing in the world, estimated at approximately $3 trillion, and continent-wide economic growth anticipated at 4.1 percent from 2023-2024. Africa is also home to the world's youngest and fastest-growing population, with its population expected to nearly double to 2.5 billion people by 2050. Africa has a burgeoning free trade zone, and each of the individual 54 diverse countries represent a broad range of opportunities for inclusive growth and economic development to fully utilize its rich natural resources and human potential. Trade between Houston and the visited countries has already shown impressive growth, with a total trade volume of $1.6 billion with Nigeria, $196.8 million with Cote d’Ivoire, and $293.1 million with Ghana in 2022. While the trade balance is largely founded on the energy sector, it includes medical, services, and an increasingly broad range of consumer items. Thank you to all of our friends and partners, including all of the government and local representatives who were instrumental in making this mission a success! Read more

In October, on behalf of the City of Houston, MOTIA Deputy Director Mazda Denon, and
Chief Protocol Officer Jessica Ngo, in collaboration with University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business, represented by Associate Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs Frank Kelley and Director of Admissions and Recruitment Joyce Williams, led a mission to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. This mission was designed lay the foundation for future opportunities in education, trade, and investment between Houston and Vietnam. The trip also reinforced the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership as established by President Biden during his recent visit to Vietnam this September 2023, highlighting several specific topics, include promoting our business-to-business relationships and cultivating people-to-people ties, especially the areas of education and training.

Houston and Vietnam share strong relationships. The Vietnamese language is the third most spoken language in Houston. Students from Vietnam also represent the largest foreign student population in UH undergraduate programs (more than China, India, and Mexico as of Fall 2020). The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the ninth busiest gateway for U.S.-Vietnam trade and Vietnam is Houston’s 22nd largest international trading partner with eight Houston firms operate 11 subsidiary locations in Vietnam. From ’13 to ’22, trade between Houston and Vietnam averaged $1.8 billion annually and was valued at $4.7 billion in ’22.

During this trip, MOTIA engaged with local universities and high schools in HCMC to promote Houston as an ideal place for academic and professional growth. In Hanoi, MOTIA participated in a Forum on "The Future of Higher Education in the Digital and Green Economy" organized by Vietnam National University-University of Economics and Business (VNU-UEB), to discuss the future of higher education facilitated exchanges, modern education trends, and enhance collaborations between Vietnam and the U.S. in higher education innovation. MOTIA also met with key partners including U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, U.S. Consulate General in HCMC, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Ho Chi Minh City Branch (VCCI-HCM), Vietnam National University HCMC - International University (IU), City of Hai Phong, and local businesses, to further explore education, trade and business opportunities between Houston and Vietnam. Our warmest thank you to all our friends and partners, in particular T.H. Marc Knapper, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam and his great team, and the entire team at the C.T. Bauer College of Business and University of Houston. Read more

Connecting cities around the world leading the energy transition is a critical role for Houston. Houston serves as the Permanent Secretariat of the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP), represented by the City's Chief Development Officer Andy Icken, and MOTIA Director and WECP Executive Director Chris Olson. This year’s WECP Annual General Meeting was hosted by the City of Perth, Australia, a traditional oil and gas capital leading the way on renewable energy and hydrogen. Under the Esbjerg presidency, the WECP continues to bring together not only the cities of the WECP, but also the academic institutions conducting cutting edge research on the energy transition, as well as the companies in our cities to find new economic opportunity. This year’s Perth AGM featured discussions with energy companies including Woodside and Chevron, the University of Western Australia and other universities throughout the Perth area including Edih Cowen University and Curtin University, and meeting with the Federal Minister for Resources. The WECP also welcomed the City of Groningen as the newest member!

A huge thank you to the wonderful City of Perth for being the gracious host of this year's Annual General Meeting. It was an absolute pleasure to visit Australia, and the breathtaking landscapes of Perth served as the perfect backdrop to the AGM. Congratulations to the organizers who worked tirelessly to bring us an unforgettable program. Everything was executed flawlessly, from the insightful sessions to the amazing networking opportunities. We look forward to seeing everyone in Houston during CERAWeek and for next year’s AGM in Stavanger.

The City of Houston, represented by Chief Development Officer Andy Icken, together with the Greater Houston Partnership, Harris County, and the Bi-lateral Chamber of Commerce traveled to Singapore to welcome the return of the GASTECH conference to Houston in September 2024. Gastech, which takes place in a different location each year, is the world’s largest integrated conference and exhibition for the natural gas, LNG, low carbon solutions, and climate technologies, and draws more than 40,000 international visitors from across the energy value chain. Attendees include heads of state and government, energy ministers, CEOs and global business leaders. Houston brought GASTECH to Houston in 2019 and was excited to welcome the conference and the tens of thousands of visitors back to Houston.

While welcoming GASTECH’s return to Houston, the delegation also met with Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) to explore ways to enhance tech and innovation collaborations in the life sciences and clean energy sectors. A subsequent meeting in Houston solidified interest in opening an EnterpriseSG office in Houston to further this collaboration. We look forward to working with GASTECH and Enterprise SG as we continue to showcase Houston as the Energy Transition capital of the world. Read more