Cebu mission builds trade ties with Latin America

An exchange of Sto. Niño images paved the way for what Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia called a fruitful trade mission that she recently led in three Latin American countries.

The governor exchanged an image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu with the Niño de Dios de Malloco, the miraculous image of Chile’s Malloco region brought by that country’s top local officials.

“There were no mishaps, nothing untoward happened. When we brought the Sto. Niño image, we were met with beautiful weather and everything went like clockwork,” Garcia said.

The governor was with top businessmen and local government officials in meeting with officials and businessmen from Chile, Brazil and Argentina for more than two weeks.

Garcia said it had been 12 years since the last trade mission in these Latin American countries and she wanted the province to re-establish these ties.  “It was really very significant for Cebu. It placed Cebu in the world map and boosted its image,” she told reporters.

Garcia said the visit will help provide market exposure to Cebu products like furniture, fashion accessories and food.

“And the possibility of exchange in the fields of tourism, academics and culture were also extensively discussed,” she said.

In Chile, they’ve met the Camara Nacional de Comercio, their national chamber of commerce.  The Cebu trade mission also met with chambers of commerce in Brazil and Argentina.

Among those who joined the trade mission were Consul Samuel Chioson,  Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Chairman, and Melanie Ng, CCCI chairperson  for South America Business Council.

Capping off the trade mission was an agreement signed between Cebu and the regional government of Valparaiso that was aimed at promoting trade and cultural relations between them. /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent