San Diego and Tijuana officials pledged Tuesday to work together to build stronger cross-border ties.
The mayors of both cities met on the top floor of downtown San Diego’s new library. In front of dignitaries from both sides of the border, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazarán signed an agreement designed to forge a closer relationship between the region's two largest cities.
Directors and department heads from both cities will meet twice a year. The first meeting will happen in January.
Astiazarán said work on the San Ysidro Port of Entry has already removed a major obstacle to cross-border cooperation. Long wait times to cross into the U.S. appear to be a thing of the past.
"There is no question that our cities will benefit from this integration," Astiazarán said. "We will be more productive and efficient and thereby improve the quality of life to our citizens. We will be an example and a national benchmark for our federal and state governments. We will be the most effective cross-border platform in the world."
Faulconer said he hoped the new relationship would forge successful partnerships.
"The synergies between our two great cities is so important, and we see it continuing to grow," he said. "We're creating good quality jobs on both sides of the border. We are a region that competes. We're a region that's doing great things together. We have mutual admiration, friendship and respect.”
