Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Announces Eleventh Americas Competitiveness Exchange

Senior Officials from Across the Globe Visit Puerto Rico’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hubs

WASHINGTON – From May 18-25, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and International Trade Administration (ITA), in coordination with the U.S. Department of State and the Organization of American States (OAS), will participate in the Eleventh Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico.

ACE has been recognized as a successful tool for bilateral and multilateral cooperation, furthering the ability of U.S. businesses to compete at home and abroad. Previous hosts have found ACE to be an important vehicle to advance commerce and trade between them and participating nations.

For ACE 11, nearly 50 high-level representatives from 22 countries will explore global and regional partnerships as well as economic development opportunities.

“ACE is an important tool in showcasing the incredibly innovative capacity of U.S. regions and their ability to forge global commercial relationships in support of U.S. companies,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Dr. John Fleming. “We look forward to demonstrating how Puerto Rico’s emerging innovation economy can help drive new private investment to the Island to spur mutually-beneficial business deals and advance local resiliency efforts.”

ACE 11 will showcase examples of effective innovation and entrepreneurship-related initiatives currently underway to further Puerto Rico’s economic development through partnership efforts.

“This is a critical opportunity to share best practices that can help shape economic development strategies for the United States and our partners throughout the hemisphere,” said Brian Lenihan, Executive Director of the Commerce Department’s SelectUSA program. “I look forward to seeing more ACE success stories from this continued partnership and exchange of ideas.”

For more information about the ACE program please visit: http://riacevents.org/ace/. For more information on ACE 11, please visit: http://riacevents.org/ACE/puertorico/.

###

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.

The International Trade Administration (www.trade.gov)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) is the premier resource for American companies competing in the global marketplace. ITA has more than 2,200 employees assisting U.S. exporters in more than 100 U.S. cities and 75 markets worldwide.