(Photo courtesy James Ahlers)

Antonio Proto is the director of the Phoenix Northern Mexico Office of Economic Development in Hermosillo.

The city of Phoenix has a new presence in Northern Mexico.  The city now has a Northern Mexico Office of Economic Development in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora.

Phoenix already has a trade office in Mexico City. The new one covers the country’s northern states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Baja California and Baja California Sur.

The city’s trade representative overseeing the new Hermosillo office is Tucson native Antonio Proto. He began two weeks ago.

“Any business in Phoenix that is looking to sell product into Mexico or they want to expand their services, they can always contact us and we can help them find the right companies to work with,” Proto said while on a visit to Phoenix.

Proto previously represented the state of Arizona in Sonora. He also owns a travel agency, Descubre Phoenix, that specializes in promoting Phoenix tourism to Mexico.

The new Phoenix office is located inside of Descubre Phoenix's office space in Hermosillo.

Proto said the office is there to welcome Arizona business leaders on business trips, provide them with a place to work and help them make connections in Mexico.

Proto said part of his role will also be to bring Mexican business leaders to Phoenix to make local connections.