OREANDA-NEWS. Miami-Dade Aviation Department Director Emilio T. Gonzalez was the keynote speaker for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency Latin American and Caribbean Airport Resiliency Workshop, which was held this week in Miami.

Other MDAD officials shared their expertise on crisis and emergency management with more than 50 of their counterparts from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. Gonzalez was joined at the opening ceremony by Eduardo Angeles, Associate Administrator for Airports at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"As America's second-busiest port of entry with more than 20 million international passengers and the number one international cargo airport in the nation, Miami International Airport places safety and emergency response as one of our foremost priorities," said Gonzalez. "We are proud to welcome our partners from throughout this Hemisphere and we look forward toward to working together to best prepare for natural or manmade disasters."

MDAD officials responsible for security, airside operations and facilities management addressed workshop participants and provided their expertise on how MIA is prepared to handle natural disasters. MIA was uniquely qualified to be the host airport for the regional workshop as the busiest U.S. airport for flights to Latin America and the Caribbean, in addition to its history of responding to natural disasters in the storm-prone area of South Florida. Managed by the American Association of Airport Executives and sponsored by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency in cooperation with the FAA, the workshop served as a valuable opportunity for U.S. industry participants to build meaningful working relationships with key Latin America and Caribbean partners.