b'22American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(FORUMcontinued from page 20) within two days. All the major air- theU.S.,Mexico,andCanadaatbeingthefirstMalaysiantobe So, we connected them with our WTCcargo service providers such as UPS,overhauledunderPresidentDonaldelected as the WTCAs board director. counterpartsinthoseareas,sheFedEx, Amazon, USPS, operate fromTrump, and making changes in laborSpeakingtotheAmericanJour-explained. the new airport.issues, etc. Turner said one key ele- nalofTransportationattheforum, CanadaandMexico,becauseCraigTurner,whoheadsthementwasalignmentandstandard- IrmohizamIbrahimsaidthathe ofKansasgeographiclocation,areWTC in Buffalo, explained his focusizationinmanufacturing.Smallwasdeeplytouchedbythehonor twomajortradingpartnersforitswas binational: besides the U.S. hedifferenceslike, for example, in theof being elected as a board member businesscommunity.KansasCitysalso looked after Canada, thanks tothread of a tirehad led to setting upof the WTCA. The WTCKLs focus mainexportsareagriculturalprod- hisorganizationsproximitytothetrade barriers.These were addressed.is not just on real estate but is also ucts, commodities, livestock, finishednorthernneighbor.Indeed,TurnerThoughsomewouldsaythattheinvolved in the Business Event Econ-goods, animal feed, health products,said that his territory extends all thechangesinstitutedwerecosmetic,omy, a term now in vogue in place of food,andbeverages,etc.KansaswayfromSyracuse,NewYorktothere were also those who recognizedwhatisknownasMICE(Meetings, City has also emerged as a hub for theHamilton, Ontario. that the three USMCA members wereIncentives,ConventionsandExhi-designingandconstructionindustry.Weworkwithcompaniesoninextricably tied together. bitions).TheWTCKLaddresshas A lot of engineering and architectureboth sides of the borderto tradealsoacquirednationalsignificance companies are based in Kansas City;globallybutalso,acrosstheborder.sincethecountryspoliticalleaders they sell their services overseas. WeOur biggest trading partner is a milehavesetupofficesinthatbuilding havetwolargeautomanufacturersacrosstheriver.Wedoeducation,complex; he is a board member of the (FordandGeneralMotors)autonetworkingadvance,werunglobalKuala Lumpur Convention and Exhi-manufacturing is a hub for us.business academy, which is the long- bitionBureau.Herevealedthathe Miller said that engineering andtermeducationcourse,thenwedowas trying to get the world exhibition construction companies from KansasworkineconomicdevelopmentjustEXPO to be staged in Kuala Lumpur, werelookingforopportunitiesinto make sure we are plugged in to allpossibly, within the next 10 years.He infrastructure in overseas markets. theeconomicplayersonbothsideshadbeentalkingtovariousgovern-there are also those that are looking toof the borderwe train everybodyment offices in his country.set up satellite offices and other distri- that if you get an international tradeTheMalaysiandelegatehigh-bution centers overseas. Kansas City,question,dontwastetime,justcalllighted the fact that Malaysias major she said, was also well-positionedus. Lets take care of itthats theCraig Turner, WTC in Buffalo port,PortKlang,whichislocated for new investments in sectors such aschambers, the elected officials, devel- Wemarketourselvesasonenear Kuala Lumpur and whose signif-semi-conductor manufacturing.Pan- opment agenciesits all about rela- regiontwonationslogisticsisicance is growing in Southeast Asia, asonic is now building a new electrictionships which have taken a long timeimportant for uswe depend on ouris projected to post impressive growth vehiclebattery-manufacturingfacil- to build, but we believe its working.cross-border tradeour main marketratesincargotrafficinthefuture. ity. She pointed out that Kansas CityAlthough Buffalos trade is heav- is the U.S. and are helped with well- In fact, we had made a proposal to hasthelongest,contiguousraillineily tilted towards Canadaand vicedeveloped infrastructurehe said.expandtheportsinfrastructure,by passingthroughitwiththemergerversa - necessitated by geographicalTherewerealsoanumberofproviding additional landwe have of Kansas City Southern and Canadaproximity,partofthe WTAmissionimportantforeigndelegatesrecentlyproposed a private-public partnership Pacific railway. Besides its inland portis to trade with the world but whenelectedasWTCABoardMembers,for Port Klang, he said.connectivity, Kansas City has a newtraders are asked, their first choice is,who were keen to extend the horizonsHesaidthatMalaysia,beinga airport facilitating airfreight traffic. Itnaturally, to trade 10 minutes awaybeyond their native countries. Irmo- trading nation, would welcome U.S. is evolving into a logistics and manu- in Canada. hizamIbrahim,thegroupmanagingcompaniestosetupoperationsin facturing center. Miller said: We canOn the transition from NAFTA todirectoroftheWorldTradeCenterMalaysiawhichofferedexcellent thus reach 85% of the U.S. populationUSMCAthe free trade pact betweenKuala Lumpur (WTCKL), was elatedinvestment opportunities.'