HOUSTON, July 18, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Panama Business Council USA president Juan B. Sosa presented the Port of Houston Authority with a Friendship Award, accepted by PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds at the council's July 14 Panama Day inauguration dinner.
"It was an honor to receive this award," says Edmonds. "This latest development is a tribute to growing trade and a strengthening relationship between Houston's port and Panama. The PHA is the seventh largest container port in the United States and is becoming the leading alternative to traditional west coast cargo landings, which has resulted in above-average growth rates."
"Efforts were made many years ago to promote business between the Port of Houston and Panama, and I am very proud of the partnership that has flourished throughout the years," says Adsinar Cajar Bocek, Consul General of Panama. "Together, we have acted as ambassadors to the trade community. The expansion of the Panama Canal will provide an entryway to the Gulf Coast from Asia and is a tool for the port and the region to grow."
With the Panama Canal representing a strategic link between the Port of Houston Authority and East Asia -- the fastest-growing PHA containerized cargo market -- the PHA recently relocated its regional office for trade growth within Central and South America, excluding Brazil, to Panama City, Panama, under the leadership of Arturo Gamez. The PHA has also renewed and extended its Memorandum of Understanding for three years with the Panama Canal Authority.
In addition to Bocek, Panama's Minister of Commerce and Industry, the Honorable Carmen Gisela Vergara, attended the Panama Day events, which also featured a luncheon, business forum and reception. The forum covered such topics as an overview of the economy, maritime/Panama Canal, infrastructure, telecom and technology, regional headquarters, trade and investment, tourism, healthcare, energy, air transportation, real estate and education.
The U.S. Panama Business Council USA's Southwest Chapter will include the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, with headquarters in Houston. Ricky Kunz, general manager of the PHA's Trade Development Division, was appointed to the chapter's board of directors.
PHA plans to host a series of meetings in early September to inaugurate its Central and South America presence based in Panama.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 7,700 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange.
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