Cancun.- “Cancun is a safe place. If I didn’t have an official position as Ambassador, I would like to be here, in Cancun, with my family; it’s a gorgeous, safe place”, said Ambassador Ken Salazar, during the Third South-Southeast Mexico Governors Encounter.
During a joint press conference with governors from Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquín, and Yucatán, Mauricio Vila Dosal, the diplomat stressed that Cancun is a great place, a tourist destination that “everyone wants to visit”.
The Ambassador stated that in the US, if anyone asks where people want to go, their answer will always be that they want to travel to Cancun.
“There are many windows of opportunity. The biggest window is tourism, for its richness, its changing history, the sea, the jungle… an almost magical and unique place in the world. Yes, let more tourists come, let more US travelers come”, the diplomat pointed out.
Governor Carlos Joaquín, on the other hand, explained that during the Third South-Southeast Mexico Governors Encounter with the U.S. Embassy, five major proposals on Sustainable Development came up, benefiting the country’s southeastern region and that will be will be followed up in future meetings.
These projects represent US$30 million that may turn into US$90 million in proposals focused in protection and preservation works of the Mayan jungle in Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Campeche and Tabasco.
Ambassador Ken Salazar recalled, that companies such as Microsoft and Amazon have made a commitment to invest one billion dollars in creating jobs in Central America, and they will be asked to allocate resources in southeastern Mexico as well.
A bilateral meeting was held between the Quintana Roo state government and the Embassy of the United States of America, where relevant issues such as the post-Covid economic reactivation strategy, the tourist assistance strategy, the global information campaign and statistics on the reception of North American tourists to Quintana Roo, were addressed.
Ambassador Salazar was impressed by the state’s security strategy to ensure the citizen and visitor integrity as well as the law and justice implementation.
“The world should get to know the work that is being carried out in the business security worktables,” said the diplomat, but, the hard work being done does not mean that everything is safe “there are difficult areas in the United States as well.”
The U.S. Consul General in Merida, Dorothy Ngutter, at the Ambassador’s request in that regard, added that in coordination with the governments of Mexico and the United States, the millions of North American citizens who come to Quintana Roo, as well as the State Department are provided with current, timely information.
Consul Ngutter pointed out that the incidence of crime with respect to the number of visitors and tourists is small; but the high impact incidents recorded, along with media influence, do not reflect the state’s reality, where the rates are decreasing and thus achieve the peace and calmness needed.
The Public Security Secretary of Quintana Roo, Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez, said that he has a close relationship with Consul Ngutter, as well as with the consuls of the 32 nations represented in Quintana Roo, in order to make sure that their nationals have timely information, receive assistance when needed and their stay is pleasant and safe.
During the bilateral meeting, Secretary Hernandez submitted crime rates, strategies and agreements on security matters.
Oscar Montes de Oca, head of the State Attorney General’s Office, explained the state’s intelligence strategy, infrastructure and actions carried out to address complaints from tourists.
Fernando A. Mora Guillén, General Coordinator of Communication of the state, explained how the strategy has been subject to constant changes. Unlike the previous administration, that did not disclose the security issue, Governor Joaquín’s government, in coordination with the State Attorney General’s Office, encourage open communication, in order to provide the people immediate and timely information on the events regarding acts of violence in the entity.
