Global Business Advisory Board Chairman Ken Wright joined key international leaders from throughout the state in signing a Joint Resolution supporting the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the establishment of a Secretariat in Miami.

A delegation of board members traveled to Tampa last week to participate in the “State of the State” Conference, hosted by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. The program focused on the implications, potential benefits and challenges of the FTAA and its Secretariat to Florida. Board member Robert Hendry, Chairman of the Florida District Export Council, was one of the speakers at the event.

Pam Dana receives the joint resolution signed by over 30 businesses and economic development groups from around the state in support of hosting the permanent secretariat in Miami.

The Global Business Advisory Board is the governing body of the “Global Business Network,” a partnership with a variety of organizations focused on global business, including Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, Metro Orlando International Affairs Commission, World Trade Center Orlando, Rollins College, Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc., U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Entrepreneur Center and the Chamber Coalition, an organization composed of bi-national, multi-national and international chambers of commerce in the region. The program provides global advocacy, education and supporting events to small and mid-size Chamber members in an effort to help them increase international trade.

“The FTAA is certainly the most significant trade alliance in the history of the hemisphere. Locating its "headquarters" in Florida would mean thousands of jobs and confirm Florida as the epicenter of hemispheric trade and international transactions. We are happy to support it and want to continue educating the business community of our region in the importance and value of global trade and commercial interaction," said Ken Wright.

Inés Calderón, Executive Director of Florida FTAA, Inc., will address the Global Business Advisory board on January 9. Florida FTAA, Inc., is a non-profit organization established to support the efforts to bring the FTAA and its Secretariat to Florida. Chaired by Former Secretary of State Katherine Harris, the group works directly with state and U.S. government officials and keeps the public abreast of new developments.

The endeavor to unite the economies of the Western Hemisphere into a single free trade agreement began at the Summit of the Americas, which was held in December 1994 in Miami. If successfully concluded in 2005, the FTAA will integrate 34 democratically governed countries, creating the largest free trade area of the world. With a combined population of 800 million consumers, the coalition will eliminate barriers to trading goods and services and will generate a combined gross domestic product of $14 trillion.

To learn more about the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, you may contact Florida FTAA, Inc., at 305-476-5451 or log on to www.floridaftaa.org.