Houston's Diplomatic Engagements- Fall '22

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

It has been an extraordinary past three months, potentially the busiest ever for MOTIA. This fall Houston has reached new international heights. Our Houston-Africa Energy Summit brought African Heads of State and Ministers together with Houston's leading energy companies for a robust dialogue on the opportunities and challenges in the African energy market. We celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Houston Consular Ball, joined Esbjerg in hosting the 2022 World Energy Cities Partnership Annual Meeting in Denmark, and together with the Greater Houston Partnership we launched one of the largest Houston Mayoral-led trade missions ever to Tokyo, Japan. Houston's incredible fall schedule was representative of this year's consular ball theme of City Diplomacy. Through our global engagement, we have created new economic, civic, and cultural opportunities for our residents.

In 2015, the Houston City Council adopted a new vision statement as part of the ambition of Plan Houston, a vision to create opportunity through our diversity. Seven years on, the vision remains the guiding premise of our work in the Mayor's Office of Trade and International Affairs as we promote Houston's international engagements and partnerships. The vision is prominently displayed in the City Hall's Legacy Room, where we continue to welcome visitors and promote Houston to the world!

Sincerely,

Built on several years of purposeful Houston engagement with Africa, the two-day inaugural Houston-Africa Energy Summit provided an opportunity for critical dialogue between African nations and Houston's energy sector. On day one, Mayor Turner led a closed-door executive roundtable discussion that featured H.E. Mr. Mohamed Bazoum, President of the Republic of Niger, and Energy Ministers and Presidental advisors from Angola, Madagascar, Namibia, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe, the Gambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Burundi, Ghana, Guinea, Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and the African Union Ambassador to the United States Hilda Suka-Mafudze. These African leaders joined 20 Houston-based CEOs, energy executives, and business leaders from Houston's largest and most prominent energy companies for three hours of discussion on the economic and political opportunities and challenges for U.S. companies to bring tangible energy investment to Africa. This event created a platform to discuss broad strategies and specific opportunities to build renewable energy capacity, reduce carbon emissions, extract oil and natural gas, and create innovative power distribution systems.

On day two, in collaboration with the Greater Houston Partnership, Mayor Turner hosted a daylong plenary session focused on concerns, opportunities, and potential tangible outcomes that will enable Houston area companies to better support Africa’s energy development. Industry leaders and African Ministers engaged in thought-provoking panel discussions to better understand the distinct journeys of energy development in Africa, and better position Houston for future engagement in Africa’s emerging energy markets. The Luncheon Program featured remarks from City of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and a Presidential Address from H.E. Mohamed Bazoum, President of the Republic of Niger. The plenary session concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Bobby Tudor, CEO of Artemis Energy Partners and Chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), alongside Mayor Turner and H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

Thank you to our Host Sponsor Chevron, and Kosmos, Halliburton, and Vaalco for their support. Learn more: Houston Africa Energy Summit Press Release | Event Photos

Mayor Sylvester Turner hosted the 70th anniversary of the Houston Consular Ball honoring the members of the Houston Consular Corps, with this year's theme celebrating Houston’s leadership in City Diplomacy. The Consular Ball fosters both personal and business interchange between foreign diplomats and Houston’s civic, business, and social leaders, and promotes Houston as an international city.

"In challenging times, city-to-city and people-to-people diplomacy may be the only opportunities for dialogue. This is the purpose of Houston’s more than 90 Consulates, 19 Sister Cities, Houston’s leadership on Climate Action, our leadership in the Resilient Cities Network, the World Energy City Partnership, the Urban 20, and the list goes on – to create opportunities for dialogue and action, and bring about change," said Mayor Turner to an audience of over 600 guests.

Houston is a city anchored in our international relationships, both at the National and City levels. We are a strong believer in City Diplomacy, and the critical importance of maintaining relationships and dialogue, both when times are good and in times of crisis. We greatly thank all of this year's sponsors and attendees for another amazing Consular Ball.

View the 2022 Consular Ball Photos

World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP) President and Mayor of Esbjerg, Jesper Frost Rasmussen, welcomed the 19 cities of the WECP to Denmark for the WECP's 2022 Annual General Meeting focused on the theme of the energy transition and public/private partnerships. Houston is the permanent secretariate of the WECP and MOTIA serves as the Executive Director. On behalf of Mayor Sylvester Turner, Chief Development Officer Andy Icken represented Houston at this year's AGM.

The Esbjerg program included a business-to-business matchmaking event organized by Energy Cluster Denmark, and members of the WECP gained insight into how local companies in Esbjerg play a leading role in the energy transition at Semco Maritime A/S. Steen Brødbæk. The WECP Board Meeting took place at Hotel Britannia where ten cities were represented in person including Dammam, Halifax, Perth, Cape Town, Aberdeen, Scotland, Kobe, Houston, Calgary, and Esbjerg while four cities joined virtually – Barranquilla, Dongying, Karamay, and Daqing. Board members agreed to pursue two new initiatives of the President: to further business-to-business cooperation to strengthen the ties between member cities, and to establish academic partnerships between educational institutions from each energy city to further the exchange of knowledge and create more opportunities for students. The WECP Working Meeting was also moved to correspond with our partnership with CERAWeek to amplify the voice of Mayors in the energy transition.

Learn more: Day One of the AGM in Esbjerg | Day Two of the AGM in Esbjerg | Final Day of the AGM in Esbjerg | PowerPoints from AGM in Esbjerg 2022

The Mayor's Office of Trade and International Affairs together with the Greater Houston Partnership organized one of Houston's largest trade missions ever, traveling to Japan from October 24 to October 30, 2022. The mission focused on reinforcing our relationship with key Japanese partners, promoting Houston as a premier global city, and establishing new avenues for cooperation and investment in the areas of energy transition, innovation, advanced manufacturing, transportation and mobility, and tourism. Along with government and business leaders, the mission included nearly 100 members of the Houston Ballet. Trade mission highlights included the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Houston-Chiba Sister City relationship, Mayor Turner presenting at the U.S. Japan Council Annual Meeting, and a celebration of the Houston Ballet’s first-ever performance in Japan; Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake at Bunka Kaikan.

On the governmental side, the Houston delegation held individual meetings with Mr. Satoru Mizushima, Vice-Minister for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and Mr.Makoto Nagamine, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry. During a welcome reception for the Houston delegation, after a private working meeting Ms. Yummi Yoshikawa, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs joined Mayor Turner for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Houston’s leadership also met with Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo which is currently the most populous city in the world. As part of the 50th Anniversary of the Houston- Chiba Sister City relationship, official meetings between Mayor Turner and T.H. Toshihito Kumagai, Governor of Chiba, and T.H. Shunichi Kamiya, Mayor of Chiba were held to commemorate the occasion, followed by a reception and ceremony hosted by Chiba City for Houston. Chiba City honored Mayor Turner with an Honorary Citizenship certificate, and Mayor Turner and Mayor Kamiya signed a reaffirmation of the sister-city relationship.

Throughout the visit, Mayor Turner highlighted the importance of stable and reliable partnerships, which embody the Japan-U.S. and Japan-Houston relationship. "Around 80 Japanese companies call Houston home, and 18 Houston firms operate 30 subsidiary locations in Japan – and I know this number can grow. Together we can do more in innovation, energy transition, and in advanced manufacturing that will keep both of our economies growing and lift up more of our people. We’re here today to learn from each other, from economic interests, business opportunities, industries evaluations, and what more can we explore to ensure the continued growth and development of our cities,” said Mayor Turner.

Learn more: City To Promote Economic And Cultural Ties In Japan: Press Release | Houston And Chiba Japan Mark 50 Years As Sister Cities: Press Release |Design And Technology Are Model For Texas Project: Press Release | Business Journal: Houston Trade Mission to Japan | Chiba Daily | Japan Trade Mission Photos

Mayor Turner provided his seventh state of the city address to a sold-out audience of more than 1500 at the Hilton Americas. Mayor Turner outlined both his accomplishments over the past seven years as well as his initiatives for his final year in office. These initiatives include further action to reduce homelessness, address climate change, build a more resilient city, and create equitable economic development. Mayor Turner also talked about his recent cancer diagnosis and treatment as part of his personal growth and journey as Mayor of the fourth largest and most diverse city in America.

Watch the Mayor's State of the City address: State of The City 2022 Recap