Gov. Brian Sandoval, First Lady Kathleen Sandoval and the Nevada delegation continued the South American trade mission with a series of meetings in Peru on Thursday, according to a release from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
While in the country, Sandoval and members of the delegation met with U.S. Ambassador Brian Nichols, Regional Governor of Cusco Edwin Licona Licona, and President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, to address areas of interest and opportunities for future collaborations such as innovation in the mining industry, water technology and commercialization, and academic research partnerships.
“Innovation is an important component to ensure that economies continue to move forward, and in Nevada, this has become a key economic development tool for both our existing industries as well as our emerging ones,” said Sandoval in the release. “Both Nevada and Peru rely heavily on the mining sector, and I believe Nevada’s use of autonomous systems in mining would be beneficial to Peru as well. Further, our focus on water technology and commercialization could have a real-world impact on environmental concerns that need to be addressed both home and abroad.”
Additionally, Kathleen Sandoval met with Carmen Masias, executive president of the National Commission for Development and Life Without Drugs, and representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Judiciary, and the Ministry of Justice to discuss adolescent drug treatment courts and alternative sentencing for youth offenders.
Following Gov. Sandoval’s meeting with the president, Barrick Mining hosted a lunch for the governor and his delegation with representatives from Peru’s mining industry in attendance. The attendees included: Barrick Peru, the president of the National Mining, Petroleum and Electricity Chamber, the president of the National Confederation of Private Businesses, and the president of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru.
In Lima, Gov. Sandoval also met with representatives from Peru’s gaming industry with Bo Bernhard, executive director of UNLV’s International Gaming Institute in attendance.
The day concluded with a reception for the delegation hosted by the Peruvian Chamber of Commerce where Gov. Sandoval highlighted the strengths of doing business in Nevada and presented the Chamber with a certificate of recognition.
In Cusco, Kathleen Sandoval served as the keynote speaker at an event for the trade mission’s business delegation and key government trade officials. While in Cusco, Gov. Sandoval met with the Regional Governor of Cusco Edwin Licona Licona to discuss establishing closer relations between Nevada and the Cusco region, specifically in the areas of tourism, water management, renewable energy and wildland fire prevention. The governor also sat down with U.S. Ambassador Brian Nichols at the Ambassador’s residence and provided an introduction to Nevada’s approach to fire management and prevention, WaterStart’s technology development and application and highlighted the state’s leadership in renewable energy and hospitality training.
The delegation has departed Peru for Santiago, Chile.