Interview with the Governor of Querétaro, Mauricio Kuri

The state of Querétaro continues to be one of the preferred places for Americans and Canadians in terms of investment, whether for the installation of companies, franchises, production, organization of industrial fairs, acquisition of real estate, etc., and to learn more about the sectors with greater interaction with Canada, we interviewed the Governor of the State of Querétaro, Mauricio Kuri González. 

 

What is the government currently doing in terms of programs or benefits to increase direct investment by Canadians in Querétaro?

We are creating strategies for our business partners to come to Querétaro and find here the best conditions to develop their projects. We work every day to respond to one of the main citizen demands, security. In its two aspects, to be able to walk down the street with peace of mind and also to have strong institutions that provide legal certainty to investments. We have invested 4 billion pesos to have the best police, equipped with technology and well trained. We promote an educational system with the Triple Helix model, which, together with companies, trains the human talent required by highly specialized industries.

I always say that I can be criticized for doing, but never for not doing. Because we have the conviction that we must work thinking about the next generation, not the next election. Today we have undertaken projects such as the modernization and re-engineering of Paseo 5 de Febrero, to guarantee orderly mobility on the most important road connecting the center with the north of the country. We are also making progress on the Aqueduct III project, to guarantee water supply for the next 50 years. In the area of energy, we have the most ambitious project in recent years; we are going to build two substations, with which we will increase the supply, and thus guarantee a quality service not only to industry, but also to the families of Querétaro.

 

Which are the sectors that stand out the most in this commercial relationship and what is the amount of investment by each sector in the last semester?

The most recent indicators we have were provided by the Ministry of Economy, which reports that as of February 2023 there were 96 companies with Canadian capital in Queretaro, which represents 5.7% of the total of 1,676 companies in the state.

Something very important, and for which we are grateful, is the trust placed in Querétaro by companies that are focused on highly specialized areas. Sectors such as aerospace equipment manufacturing, Bombardier Aerospace and Contrail Aerospace.  The automotive industry also has an important participation in our economy, with the manufacture of plastics and automotive parts, the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment for automotive vehicles, and the aluminum industry.

But this relationship is not only restricted to the branches of the transformation industry, because during the last few months we have seen the expansion of the Tim Hortons chain in our state, with a three-year plan to open 50 branches and an investment of 600 million pesos.

 

What are the indicators in the export and import of goods and/or products with Canada and what is the status of the balance?

In 2022 the second most important destination for our exports was Canada, only behind the United States, which confirms the importance of the commercial relationship between the three countries. This balance shows that 3.8% of Querétaro's imports (773 MDD), as well as 2.6% of its exports (387 MDD) had Canada as origin and destination.

In this solid relationship, the main exports of our state are refrigerators and freezers, which represented 25.3% of the flow of merchandise, and in second place the item of parts and accessories for motor vehicles, with 16.6%, in addition to 14.8% coming from the sale of machinery and equipment.

Regarding imports in Queretaro, 25.9% corresponds to parts and accessories for automotive vehicles, and I can mention other products such as rubber tires, cast iron boxes, axles and cranks.

 

Regarding the distribution and transmission of electric energy, what incentives does the State offer to attract foreign capital? 

We know that one of the great challenges facing the country at the moment is the deficit in the supply of electric energy and the risk it entails for the arrival of new investments. But I was hired to find out how, and even though it is a federal issue, my administration has designed a plan to guarantee energy for the next ten years.

This plan represents a very important investment that we will make with state resources to guarantee the generation of 900 additional megawatts for the electric system. The infrastructure we have planned for the next few years consists of the construction of two substations; this will also be accompanied by the distribution network, so we are going to build 145 kilometers of transmission lines that will provide energy to all sectors of the state. This will bring a double benefit; we will generate enough energy to guarantee the economic activities and simultaneously it will relieve the energy demand that is currently present in the CFE networks, so it will also guarantee energy for the citizens.

The most important thing is that we have the permits from the federal government and in approximately two years we will begin to see the first results of these investments. 

 

What are the reasons to continue investing in Queretaro? 

I would tell them to come, to get to know Queretaro, and I assure them that they will want to stay thanks to the business ecosystem we are building; legal certainty and security; international connectivity, with an airport connected to the world, in addition to the presence of industrial parks that concentrate the best of the planet. Elements that we are promoting in this context of Nearshoring, and at the same time, with the conviction of stimulating a development that goes hand in hand with the care of the environment. 

 

Another field of very strong interaction between Queretaro and Canada is student mobility, will you continue with the same strategy involving state universities?  

I have always been of the idea that what is good, it is not necessary to change it, but to review the way to improve it and that is what we are doing, since thanks to the relationship we have between Queretaro and Canada, we have worked on two aspects in the educational field. The first strategy has been to promote, from the state administration, cooperation through the signing of agreements and programs that cover the six Technological and Polytechnic Universities; secondly, each University has generated programs and proposals to get closer and create networks according to their needs. With the results we have, I am convinced that we must continue to bet on education, we are looking for new options to continue expanding opportunities so that our students can take their knowledge and experience to the next level.

 

Which are the most mobile careers and which are the universities that participate the most?

Canada is one of the options that generates the most interest from students who participate in an academic mobility option. For example, at the Universidad Politécnica de Santa Rosa Jáuregui (UPSRJ), one third of those who participated in mobility programs chose Canada as their preferred destination, to reinforce their education in curricula such as Animation and Visual Effects Engineering, Automotive Systems Engineering, Physical Therapy and Industrial Metrology Engineering. 

The Aeronautical University in Querétaro (UNAQ) has also reinforced training for those studying Aeronautical Engineering in Manufacturing, which has been highly representative with 59 students benefiting from mobility, along with 17 students in Aeronautical Mechanical Design Engineering, demonstrating its significant impact.

Another institution that is part of the consortium is the Universidad Tecnológica de Corregidora (UTC), which has scheduled the attendance of several students in universities in Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, in its exchange program last year, 16 students received training at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Universidad Tecnológica de San Juan del Río will send three students to Thompson Rivers University through the Contigo, Embajadores Scholarship Program, and two more will opt for Fanshawe College, in the Aviation discipline. Once again, the most participated career is Chemistry, followed by Mechatronics. Similarly, the Universidad Politécnica de Querétaro (UPQ), through schemes such as the Ambassadors Scholarship and the Leadership Badge, has promoted the mobility of 32 students during the year 2023, being the Computer Systems Engineering Educational Program the one that generates the greatest mobility with the educational institutions Lakehead University and Centennial College.

Among the list of universities that are part of this network to provide experience to students, there is also the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières. 

 

Do you have a record of Canadian students coming to Querétaro, interested in studying the market and industry in Mexico?

As part of this relationship we have, UNAQ received two groups of students who visited the institution with the objective of carrying out a specific program and getting to know the facilities, as well as its capabilities and the aerospace industry in the state. First we had a group of 14 students, accompanied by two professors from École De Technologie Supérieure, and later there was a second group of 12 students accompanied by two professors from Canadore College. This exchange was carried out thanks to the Global Skills Opportunities program of the Government of Canada. The Polytechnic University also received a student from Thunder Bay, who completed a seven-week research internship funded by the Government of Canada's Global Skills Program, where he worked on a project on the different vibration analyses of structures using the finite element method (FEM).

In short, we have educational institutions that train the best human resources you can find, and that is the letter of introduction with which I want to tell you to come to Queretaro, because it is full of hard-working people, skilled labor and specialized talent, safety and quality of life, among many other benefits.