Conference helps put Atlanta at global fore

Atlanta Journal Constitution

ATLANTA - Atlanta may have lost out on a proposed headquarters for a Western Hemisphere trade organization, but the two-day Americas Competitiveness Forum that ended Tuesday offered a nice consolation prize, according to local business leaders.

"This is what we have been working for these past few years," said Jose Ignacio Gonzalez, the former executive director of Hemisphere Inc.

Well, what Gonzalez, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Gov. Sonny Perdue and Mayor Shirley Franklin were really pursuing was the headquarters for the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Political realities scuttled the proposed region-wide trade pact and, consequently, the need for a headquarters.

Hemisphere Inc. closed its doors Dec. 31 after four years and $4 million to $5 million in public and private money. All was not lost, though.

Gonzalez's many lobbying trips to Latin America and the Caribbean paid off with new consulates in Atlanta, more business relationships, increased Delta Air Lines flights and the just-concluded forum, which brought 900 business and government leaders from the region to Atlanta.

Gonzalez also helped recruit CIFAL, a United Nations-affiliated training program that helped organize the conference, to Atlanta.

"Without the work of Hemisphere Inc., the governor and the mayor, we would have never gotten this forum," said Chamber President Sam Williams.

"This just continues to build on Atlanta's global positioning," he said.