20 May Forging Global Partnerships: COSTEP’s Attends the 2025 SelectUSA Investment Summit
At the May 11–14 SelectUSA Summit in National Harbor, MD, COSTEP and regional partners connected with global investors to showcase Rio South Texas’s innovation, talent, and growth potential. Led by Rick Carrera, these strategic ties promise to drive economic development and job creation across the region.
COSTEP is proud to have concluded a successful showing at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, where industry representatives and leaders from around the globe gathered to explore new opportunities in foreign direct investment (FDI).
The SelectUSA Investment Summit is the highest profile event in the United States to facilitate business investment by connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organizations (EDOs), and industry experts to make deals happen. The 2025 SelectUSA Investment Summit returned to National Harbor, Maryland, from May 11 – 14, 2025, to establish new connections and opportunities to grow through investing in the United States.
This year, Rick Carrera attended the event representing COSTEP and the Rio South Texas Region. Carrera stated, “This year’s summit reaffirmed how strategic partnerships and international investment can fuel regional economic development and job creation across the U.S. From groundbreaking technologies to sustainable manufacturing, the potential for collaboration is stronger than ever.
We made valuable connections with global investors and showcased why our region is a thriving destination for innovation, talent, and long-term growth.”
The Rio South Texas Region was well represented at the event. In addition to COSTEP, regional partners representing the area included McAllen EDC, Mission EDC, Harlingen EDC, Port of Brownsville, TX, City of Laredo, Laredo EDC, Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, and UTRGV Entrepreneurship & Commercialization Center.
COSTEP would like to thank SelectUSA, Texas Economic Development Corporation, Texas Economic Development, and everyone who made this event a success. Carrera stated, “We’re energized by the future ahead—and ready to turn ideas into action!”
Economic Development in South Texas
COSTEP, the Council for South Texas Economic Progress is a nongovernmental organization advocating regional economic development for the seven-county region of Rio South Texas. Servicing the counties of Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Jim Hogg, Zapata, and Webb. COSTEP focuses on business recruitment services and provides regional market data to host site selector tours, regional familiarization tours, and area economic development enrichment sessions. To learn more about how you can support our work visit COSTEP.org or contact Adam Gonzalez at agonzalez@costep.org.
