BULLET POINTS OF PALACIOS’ TRIP

Along with other U.S. insular area governors, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios was in Washington, D.C. last week to attend the 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit, organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce, as part of the CNMI’s efforts to attract new investments to the CNMI.

The SelectUSA Investment Summit is the highest-profile event dedicated to promoting Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S. and U.S. territories, including the CNMI. This year’s summit featured thousands of attendees representing over 80 markets, as well as over 1,900 foreign investors who have been vetted by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

For the first time, the summit also included an in-person session that specifically focused on investment opportunities in the U.S. territories. During this session, Palacios joined other insular area governors in engaging companies and organizations about the benefits and advantages of investing in the CNMI and other territories. Those who spoke at the session included American Samoa Gov. Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga, Guam Gov. Lourdes “Lou” Leon Guerrero, Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, and U.S. Virgin Islands Lt. Gov. Tregenza A. Roach.

Palacios also spoke at the roundtable event with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo to discuss investment opportunities in the CNMI.

●  Since its inception, SelectUSA has facilitated more than $146 billion in investment, creating and/or retaining over 166,000 U.S. jobs.

●  “The Commonwealth’s participation in this Summit will raise the CNMI’s exposure to hundreds of foreign direct investors that have been screened by the U.S. Department of Commerce,” said Palacios.

● “There are numerous potential industries that we can develop in the CNMI to diversify our economy, and participation in the SelectUSA Summit [was] a timely, cost-effective, and appropriate way to meet with hundreds of pre-selected investors in a single place.”

● Palacios was also invited by the Japan embassy and India embassy who facilitated introductions to investors from those countries. He spoke to more than 200 participants at the Indian Embassy-hosted event.

● Palacios also participated in an event hosted by JETRO, or the Japan External Trade Organization, which is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and other countries.

● Representatives of the U.S. government who participated in the summit included State Secretary Antony Blinken, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House senior advisor and Infrastructure Implementation coordinator Mitch Landrieu, and Reta Jo Lewis, president and chair of the Export–Import Bank of the United States.

●  SelectUSA also promotes and facilitates business investment into the United States by coordinating related federal government agencies to serve as a single point of contact for investors. SelectUSA assists U.S. economic development organizations to compete globally for investment by providing information, a platform for international marketing, and high-level advocacy.

●  According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, “Since the beginning of the Biden administration, companies have committed over $435 billion in private sector investments across the United States—one third of which is attributed to foreign investment—and create good-paying jobs in industries that will boost U.S. competitiveness, rebuild infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, and help build a clean energy economy.” (PR)