Oct 24, 2007: Treasurer James B. Lewis Featured Speaker at First NAST Cross-Border Forum

(SANTA FE) – New Mexico State Treasurer James B. Lewis addressed treasurers from the state and local levels of the Mexican government on the topics of public finance, ethics and governmental transparency in Mexico City at the first cross-border forum presented by the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) and El Instituto para Desarrollo Técnico de las Haciendas Públicas (INDETEC). Also attending were Georgia State Treasurer W. Daniel Ebersol and members of the NAST executive committee.



The forum launched a three-year program organized by NAST and INDETEC. The program is a continuation of an international public finance series initiated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Each forum is designed to build professional relationships between state treasurers and their Mexican counterparts and to promote meaningful exchange on topics of mutual importance.



“It is of reciprocal benefit to us and to them that they learn best practices so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” said Treasurer Lewis. “We are here to assist in whatever way we can, providing information on the management of public funds, accounting, finance and the collection of property taxes through this program with the Mexican government.” In his address, Treasurer Lewis discussed New Mexico’s focus on ethics and governmental transparency as well as the history of the state treasurer’s office and the process of issuing state bonds.



“NAST invited Treasurer Lewis to be the keynote speaker at the launch of this program because of his unique perspective as a former state treasurer returning to the office he previously held at a challenging time for the New Mexico Treasury. This experience and his broad understanding of the economic and finance issues confronting U.S. and Mexico made him a natural choice to be the keynote speaker at this event,” said Treasurer Ebersole, who is also the chair of NAST’s International Program.



As part of a formal partnership, INDETEC will identify the needs of finance officials in Mexico and NAST will coordinate the participation of one or more state treasurers to address specific topics.



NAST is an organization that focuses on state and federal public policy, the development of policy guidelines, education, and the promotion of standards of ethics and accountability in government.



INDETEC is the technical body of the Sistema Nacional de Coordinación Fiscal and provides state and local finance officials with technical assistance, training and research. INDETEC also serves as the technical secretariat of the meetings of the commission itself and of various working groups.