40 reasons Miami should host the FTAA secretariat.At the close of the successful ministerial meeting for the Free Trade Area of the Americas The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) (Spanish: Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas (ALCA), French: Zone de libre-échange des Amériques (ZLÉA), Portuguese: Área de Livre Comércio das Américas (FTAA FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas FTAA Free Trade Agreement of the Americas FTAA Florida Turkish American Association FTAA Federated Tanners Association of Australia FTAA Fixed Threshold Adaptation Algorithm ) last November in Miami, a reporter from The Wall Street Journal asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick what had been the underlying cause of the great chemistry? "Miami's a meeting place," he replied. Today, as the 34 countries move forward to create the largest economic bloc The Economic Bloc (Ekonomski Blok HDU - Za Boljitak) is a Croatian political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the last legislative elections, 5 October 2002, the party won 1. in the world, Miami is the logical choice to house the permanent FTAA Secretariat. Miami has a unique multicultural, multilingual culture, world class trade infrastructure, meeting spaces and accommodations, and highly convenient air connections throughout the hemisphere--and everything else necessary for the Secretariat to conduct its operations smoothly and efficiently. Indeed, the Magic City has long been the location of choice for the Latin American headquarters of Fortune 500 companies. A recent LATIN Recent Latin is the form of Latin used from the late ninteenth century down to the present. Unlike all previous varieties of Latin, it is neither used as a living language nor as a textual vehicle for literature, philosophy, and science; instead, it is primarily used as a form of TRADE survey of 800 business leaders in the Americas showed that nearly 50% favor Miami for the FTAA Secretariat. The idea for a hemispheric free trade area was born in Miami during the t994 Summit of the Americas The Summit of the Americas is the name for one of a sequence of summits bringing together the countries of the Americas for discussion of a variety of issues. These encounters are organized by a number of multilateral bodies led by the Organization of American States. that brought 34 democratically elected heads of state to Miami to launch the process, which has became known as the "Miami process." Here are 40 reasons why Miami and South Florida would prove the ideal choice as permanent home for the FTAA. THE TOP TEN 1. TRADE FLOWS. Miami is the trade hub for Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and the Caribbean. In 2002, nearly $52 billion worth of imports and exports flowed through the Miami Customs District, which includes all Florida air and seaports south of Tampa. That accounted for 54% of all U.S. trade with Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. , 40% of U.S. Caribbean trade, and 23% of U.S. trade with South America. 2. AIR TRAVEL. Miami International Airport Miami International Airport (IATA: MIA, ICAO: KMIA, FAA LID: MIA) is a public airport located eight miles (13 km) northwest of the central business district of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. (MIA MIA n. A member of the armed services who is reported missing following a combat mission and whose status as to injury, capture, or death is unknown. [m(issing) i(n) a(ction). ) is the primary connecting point for air travel between the Americas and the Caribbean and a major gateway to Europe. MIA has more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than all other U.S. airports combined and more international flights than any Latin American airport. 3. LOCATION. Miami is centrally located in the Western Hemisphere at the southern tip of the United States. From Toronto to San Francisco to Silo silo, watertight and airtight structure for making and storing silage. Silos vary in form from a covered pit, such as was used by the early Romans, to the modern storage tower, dating from the 19th cent. Paulo, no major city in the Americas is more than 8.5 hours away by plane--about the same as flying times to major European cities. 4. HISTORY. The FTAA has been closely associated with Miami since the Summit of the Americas. Miami was chosen as the site for the first temporary FTAA Secretariat in the late 1990s, and recently hosted the November 2003 trade discussions. 5. NEUTRALITY. Like Brussels or Geneva Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland Geneva (jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. , Miami is considered "neutral ground" for business and trade discussions. It's not surprising that several publications have named Miami as the top city for conducting business in Latin America. 6. MULTICULTURAL, MULTILINGUAL WORKFORCE. Virtually every nationality of the Americas and beyond is well represented in Miami. Miami-based organizations hire people fluent in other languages who are also familiar with the cultural nuances of their native countries. 7. INTERNATIONAL SERVICES. From banking and law, to accounting and public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most , Miami offers a full panoply pan·o·ply n. pl. pan·o·plies 1. A splendid or striking array: a panoply of colorful flags. See Synonyms at display. 2. of support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services needed by the FTAA Secretariat. More than 30 banks and 20,000 lawyers, as well as 64 foreign consulates, 40 bi-national chambers of commerce and other international business organizations support global transactions every day. 8. HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS. Miami is ranked as one of the world's top five Internet hubs, with high-speed connections to the rest of the hemisphere. Wireless voice and data services are also readily available, making it easy for traveling executives or government leaders to stay in touch with home. 9. WORLD-CLASS ACCOMODATIONS. Miami has almost 20,000 hotel rooms with a growing portfolio of hotels that cater to international business travelers--the InterContinental Miami and the Hyatt Regency--which together hosted the November trade talks--as well as the Four Seasons, J.W. Marriott, Mandarin Oriental, the historic Biltmore Hotel, host of the 1994 summit, and the Omni Colonnade colonnade (kŏlənād`), a row of columns usually supporting a roof. Colonnades were popular with the Greeks and Romans, who employed them in the stoa and the portico; they have continued to be used throughout the Middle Ages, the in Coral Gables, two Ritz-Carltons and the soon-to-open Conrad Miami. 10. QUALITY OF LIFE. As a sophisticated, cosmopolitan city, Miami offers a unique quality of life: an ample supply of single-family homes and beachfront beach·front n. A strip of land facing or running along a beach. adj. Situated along or having direct access to a beach: beachfront hotels; beachfront property. Noun 1. property, wonderful weather, world-class boating and fishing, golf and its own New World Cuisine. Miami has a warm reputation for welcoming newcomers, and introducing them to the community's unique tropical lifestyle. MIAMI MEANS BUSINESS If international executives do not live here, they visit all the time. MULTINATIONAL HEADQUARTER head·quar·ter v. head·quar·tered, head·quar·ter·ing, head·quar·ters Usage Problem v.tr. To provide with headquarters: . Miami is the de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. corporate capital of the region. Since the 1960s, South Florida has been the preferred location for multinationals' Latin American headquarters. A GATEWAY FOR LATIN COMPANIES. In the past decade, Miami has served as a launching pad for Latin American companies seeking to penetrate the U.S. market and other Latin American countries. Arcor, Bacardi, Cisneros Group, Entel Chile, Grupo Televisa, LanChile, Odebrecht, Turbana are using Miami as a base to expand their international operations. INTERNATIONLA BANKING. Known as the "Wall Street of the South," Miami's Brickell Avenue is the focal point focal point n. See focus. for the international financial sector. More than 30 international hanks have offices in the area, and all leading domestic banks otter personal amt corporate, services to international clients. LAW FIRMS. Miami's legal community is filled with specialists in international transactions. Many large law firms have affiliated offices in Caribbean and Latin American business centers. TELEVISION SERVICES. With its studio and production facilities, Miami is home to leading Latin American television services, including HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy Latin America, MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. Latino, and the Discovery Channel Latin America. LATIN MUSIC. The foremost Latin music companies--including Sony, BMG BMG Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (Germand: Federal Ministry for Health) BMG Be My Girl BMG Blue Man Group BMG Bertelsmann Music Group BMG Be My Guest BMG Browning Machine Gun BMG Bulk Metallic Glass , Universal, EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) An electrical disturbance in a system due to natural phenomena, low-frequency waves from electromechanical devices or high-frequency waves (RFI) from chips and other electronic devices. Allowable limits are governed by the FCC. and Warner--are based in Miami-Dade County, along with leading Latin artists like Gloria Estefan and Julio Iglesias. Miami recently hosted the Fourth Annual Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards were launched in 2000 with a telecast aired on CBS. It was the first primarily Spanish language prime-time program carried on an American network television. , which was broadcast around the world. TELECOM CONNECTIONS. One of the world's leading Telecom hubs, Miami is home of the Network Access Point (NAP) of the Americas, the primary gateway for Caribbean and Latin American Internet traffic. Undersea fiber optic cables to the region terminate in South Florida, supporting high-speed data and voice services from providers like Telefonica USA, BellSouth and AT&T. SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS. The flow of international business in Miami is supported by 64 foreign consulates, 40 bi-national chambers of commerce and many other international business organizations. WORLD-CLASS AIR & SEA SERVICE Miami is the gateway of the Americas for passengers and cargo. A TOP INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION. Miami is one of the world's most popular business and vacation destinations. In 2002, more than 10.2 million overnight visitors--almost half from international locations--came to Miami-Dade County, contributing $11.9 billion to the areas economy, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. CONVENIENT INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS. More than 100 airlines connect Miami International Airport to approximately 150 U.S. and international destinations. Direct flights are available to all major destinations in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America. The Miami airport ranks third in the United States for trans porting international passengers. PASSENGER SERVICES. Miami airport serves more than 30 million passengers each year, with comprehensive customs and immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. services for international visitors. EXPANDING FACILITIES. A $4.8 billion expansion program is underway at Miami airport, which has already increased its capacity by adding a fourth runway. Current projects include new facilities and services for passengers and freight. AN INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT HUB. Miami airport ranks first in the United States and third in the world for international freight. In 2002, air cargo through Miami airport totaled 1.8 million tons. Major cargo airlines with facilities at Miami airport include FedEx, UPS, ASTAR Air Cargo ASTAR Air Cargo is an American cargo airline based in Miami, Florida, USA. It operates regularly secheduled cargo charter services to over 34 US airports and nine international airports, as well as worldwide charter freight services. (DHL DHL abbr. 1. Doctor of Hebrew Letters 2. Doctor of Hebrew Literature Airways), Atlas and Arrow. ALTERNATIVE AIRPORT. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Coordinates: “FLL” redirects here. For other uses, see FLL (disambiguation). Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (IATA: FLL, ICAO: KFLL, FAA LID: FLL , just north of Miami, is the fourth fastest growing airport in North America. It transports 14 million passengers annually with increasing international service to Mexico, Venezuela and the Caribbean. It is currently undergoing a $1.2 billion expansion. SEABORNE sea·borne adj. 1. Conveyed by sea; transported by ship. 2. Carried on or over the sea. seaborne Adjective 1. carried on or by the sea 2. CARGO. Shippers at the Port of Miami serve more than 250 seaports in more than 100 countries--with more sailings to Latin America than any other port. Total cargo handled in 2002 was 8.7 million tons. The port is undergoing a $247 million capital improvement program. TOP CRUISE PORTS. Miami has the largest year-round cruise fleet in the world serving nearly 3.4 million passengers annually. Just north of Miami, Port Everglades is the world's second-largest cruise port. FREIGHT FORWARDERS. Miami has more than 300 freight forwarders and customs brokers. They guide the flows of inbound and outbound freight, and arrange the most convenient shipping schedules. CONVENTION CENTER More than a million delegates attend some of the most important business conferences in the Americas. AIR GARCO BAMERICAS, held every other year, is the largest air cargo show in the Western Hemisphere. Almost 5,000 international aviation and business executives from 57 countries visit the exhibition. ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH, the U.S. sister event of the world's most important annual art show held in Basel, Switzerland, attracts more than 30,000 people and 175 leading art galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. FELABAN Assembly is one of the largest gatherings of senior Latin American bankers. Held every other year in Miami, the assembly attracts more than 1,000 bankers from 43 countries. MIAMI & FORT LAUDERDALE INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOWS, held seperately, attract a combined audience of more than half a million people each year and display more than a billion dollars' worth of boats, yachts, and accessories from every major marine manufacturer worldwide. REAL ESTATE Miami has an ample supply of top-notch office and residential properties. AVAILABLE OFFICE SPACE. Office space for the FTAA Secretariat is readily available in downtown Miami, Brickell Avenue, Coral Gables or other locations. Altogether, Miami-Dade has more than 46.2 million square feet of office space. Emerging Trends in Real Estate recently named Miami in the top 10 markets for real estate investment and development. A VIBRANT INDUSTRIAL MARKET. For companies needing warehouse and distribution facilities, Miami-Dade County has a total of 188 million square feel of industrial space, with another 1.1 million square feet under construction. RESIDENTIAL CHOICES. From waterfront condominiums to spacious executive homes, Miami-Dade offers a wide variety of housing choices to international buyers. In fact, many Latin American professionals and business executives already own second homes in Miami. LIFESTYLE Miami is one of the world's most dynamic and diverse cities. A COSMOPOLITAN ATMOSPHERE. Miami offers an unrivaled mix of lifestyle activities, including world class museums, art galleries, orchestras, ballet and sports activities. A recent Harris poll included Miami as one of the top 15 most desirable places to live. Child Magazine rated Miami as the fourth best place to raise a child in the U.S, while Natural Health Magazine rated Miami as the healthiest city in the United States. AN INTERNATIONAL POPULATION. U.S. Census figures indicate that 61% of Miami residents are foreign born, primarily from Latin America and the Caribbean. Last year, Hispanic magazine rated Miami as the number one city in the U.S. for Hispanics, based on factors like quality of life and business opportunities. The magazine called Miami a "multicultural metropolis (that) has got it all." A SAFE COMMUNITY. Miami's crime rate has dropped 44% since 1996, a clear indication of the community's commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for all residents. QUALITY EDUCATION. Miami's public and private schools offer families a quality education lot their children. Services for children with special needs are provided at all age levels. INTERNATIONAL PATIENT SERVICES. Latin Americans come to Miami's physicians and hospitals for specialized medical services. With 32 hospitals, more than 30,000 healthcare professionals and the resources of the University of Miami This article is about the university in Coral Gables, Florida. For the university in Oxford, Ohio, see Miami University. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida,[2] UM,[3] or just The U School of Medicine, Miami serves as international center for checkups, and state-of-the-art medical and surgical services. VACATION ATTRACTIONS. From the sands of Miami Beach to the alligators of the Everglades, Miami offers an impressive array of vacation experiences. Golf, tennis, boating and fishing are among the top outdoor attractions, complemented by fine dining, shopping, nightclubs and cultural activities. DE FACTO CORPORATE CAPITAL Today, more than 150 multinationals have major facilities in South Florida American Airlines American Express Black & Decker Burger King Caterpillar Clorox DHL ExxonMobil FedEx Hewlett-Packard IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) Johnson & Johnson Mastercard Microsoft Oracle Olympus Pepsi Six Continents Hotels Group UPS Visa International. |
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