The Peachtree City Rotary Club had its annual International Appreciation Luncheon last week with representatives from several foreign countries in attendance as well as a number of state officials.

Randy Cardoza, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism, was the keynote speaker for the meeting at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center, where the crowd included members of the consular corps from Canada, Great Britain, Japan and Germany, as well as most of the Georgia Foreign Trade Zone board.

One of the purposes of the event was to recognize the large amount of foreign participation in the Peachtree City business community, especially in the industrial park, which is now an official Foreign Trade Zone. Representatives of many of those companies, such as Husky, Siemens, TDK and Panasonic, were on hand.

Cardoza used his remarks to emphasize the foreign business presence throughout the state, saying that 47 countries are currently represented in Georgia, with 16 official consuls and a number of honorary consuls and trade commissions. A total of 26 foreign chambers of commerce are now situated in Atlanta, he said.

Fayette County has an exceptionally large foreign contingent, Cardoza said, with 23 facilities employing about 2,700 people.

Because attracting foreign investment to Georgia is such a high priority, Cardoza's department has offices with full-time employees in Brussels and Tokyo, as well as an office in Toronto and a contract office in Seoul.

International trade in Georgia has continued to spread during the last decade, as countries such as Brazil, China, Israel and Malaysia have increased their presence here, Cardoza said. State officials use knowledgeable people in those countries to constantly strive for even more economic development coming out of those regions.

Cardoza congratulated Peachtree City and Fayette County for doing a good job of attracting business, saying that the city's “wonderful life-style” is known around the United States.

“This is known as a unique community,” he said, “and a great place to live and work.”

Acknowledging that Peachtree City recognizes the importance of its international community, Cardoza closed his remarks by saying that the city and its visitors make “a great team.”

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