The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s new international initiative is different from past initiatives because it focuses on both inbound investment and outbound commerce and branding, according Jorge Fernandez, the chamber’s vice president of global commerce.

The new plan, which was announced Aug. 14, is based on a strategy devised by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. for the chamber to attract more international businesses here and to create more opportunities abroad for member companies.“Atlanta has been engaged in international commerce for decades, but the realities we face today are completely different than those we faced in 1996 during the Olympics,” said Mr. Fernandez, who officially took his new post three weeks ago after leaving Delta Air Lines Inc., where he was most recently international and alliances vice president.

The new plan calls for the chamber to prioritize countries based on their total projected capital flows into the United States and Georgia for 2005-09, plus their direct international air route access to Atlanta, he said. The strategy also involves targeting countries that already have corporate operations and consulates in Georgia.

“Access is key for market growth, and markets with direct access to Atlanta……..,” Mr. Fernandez told GlobalAtlanta in an interview at the chamber’s headquarters at Centennial Park downtown.

Countries Atlanta is targeting for attracting inbound foreign direct investment include European Union and Nafta countries, plus Brazil, Japan and Korea, he said.

Those to which Atlanta is looking to increase exports and expand Atlanta firms’ operations include China, India and Eastern European and Latin American nations, he added.

“It is not a rigid strategy because the international landscape changes rapidly, and we have to adapt,” Mr. Fernandez said, citing China as changing from an “outbound” target to an “inbound” one over the past seven or eight months.

While China is a huge market for Atlanta products, Chinese companies are beginning to invest in the U.S., including in Georgia, he noted.

In addition to focusing on specific countries, the metro chamber is also looking to its industry partners to help guide its strategy for targeting specific sectors for trade and investment, Mr. Fernandez said.

He added that relationships the chamber is building overseas through Atlanta companies’ contacts are being facilitated by political connections made through Atlanta-based consulates.

The metro chamber is also working with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Hemisphere Inc. and bi-national chambers of commerce to promote Atlanta abroad to attract foreign direct investment.

Since before 1996 when Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games, the chamber has worked with local partners to attract foreign investment, Mr. Fernandez said. It has helped promote Atlanta as the best location for the future Free Trade Area of the America headquarters, and continues to promote Atlanta as an international business hub.

While Atlanta’s reputation in the Western Hemisphere continues to expand, Asia is also a priority for the chamber’s activities, Mr. Fernandez said, noting that the chamber and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin are leading an Atlanta delegation to China, Sept. 6-13.

Atlanta’s main competitors for international investment and trade are Miami, Houston and Dallas, Tex., Mr. Fernandez said, adding that the chamber is also vying with cities on the West Coast for Asian companies and in the Northeast for European investment.

But Atlanta has no competitors in the Southeast, he said, calling Georgia the “motorhouse” of the region.

More than one-third of 1,600 foreign-owned facilities currently in Atlanta are German or Japanese, and companies representing the top 10 investing countries in the metro area account for more than 71,000 jobs.

Foreign companies will continue to invest in Atlanta mainly because of its access to global markets via Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the interstate highway system, railroads and ports, as well as the quality of life here, Mr. Fernandez said.

While state and local incentives used to lure investment play a key role Atlanta’s competitive advantage lies in its talent pool from universities, its research centers, its diversified economy, low cost of living and doing business, its high concentration of Fortune 500 companies and its climate, he added.

The chamber is in the process of creating the Global Commerce Council that will execute its international strategy. Atlanta companies can participate by joining the chamber and working with private and public partners to build Atlanta’s international investment and trade portfolio, Mr. Fernandez said.

Visit www.metroatlantachamber.com for more information, or contact Mr. Fernandez at (404) 586-8471.

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