We are looking forward to hosting up to 60 delegates from our partner cities Los Angeles and Guangzhou in May, when we continue to forge new – and grow existing – trade relationships during the second Tripartite Economic Alliance gathering to be held in Auckland.
It will be one of the most important international business events in Auckland this year, bringing technology businesses, political leaders, and insightful industry experts to the doorstep of export-ready Auckland businesses.
We have timed the business-focused event to coincide with Techweek19, which will showcase Auckland and New Zealand’s strength and opportunities in innovation, technology and creative industries – each of which is of strong interest to Guangzhou and Los Angeles.
The alliance was re-signed in 2017, and this is Auckland’s first hosted event since that agreement heralded a new era for the three-way partnership – with annual meetings to coincide with existing business events, rather than standalone summits.
The most recent Tripartite meeting was during last year’s Select LA Investment Summit in Los Angeles, and it was the catalyst for a $20m investment deal between New Zealand’s HMI Technologies (HMI) and the Sino-Europe Innovation Centre of Heshan Industrial City in China’s Guangdong Province. The deal will see a manufacturing facility set up for HMI’s self-driving electric people mover, Ohmio.
We hope this May’s meeting will have similar positive outcomes for Auckland and New Zealand, with a target of 50 local businesses attending.
The alliance also allows the cities to engage on key shared areas of interest, such as sustainability, urban development and housing affordability.
For Auckland-based businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors the alliance is a way to access meaningful and substantive economic, trade and investment opportunities.
We are working with Techweek19 organisers to hold a ‘tech day’, and the second day of the alliance gathering will focus on innovation and investment.
Within Auckland Council, Tripartite is a joint project between ATEED and Council’s International Relations team, with involvement from the Office of the Mayor.
Our involvement with the event aligns well with our focus on business and investment attraction, business growth, innovation and skills, in its pursuit of supporting quality jobs for all Aucklanders.
In keeping with our priority on assisting Māori economic development, we have sought deeper Māori engagement than in previous years, with stronger participation by Māori businesses in the event itself. There will also be cultural elements interwoven into the event and theming.