There are only a couple of weeks left to register for the much-anticipated 2nd Annual US/Canada Border Conference before its September 16th opening at Detroit’s Cobo Center.

The event is intended to advance the implementation of the 2011 Beyond the Border U.S.-Canada joint declaration by providing a convenient place for concerned government agencies and businesses from both countries to meet, attend seminars, and discuss mutually beneficial approaches to cooperation.

Beyond the Border’s subtitle is “A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness”, and the conference’s focus is squarely on that goal, with an emphasis on the first part. Its chief sponsors are the American defense companies Raytheon and General Dynamics, and other sponsorship opportunities are available for businesses that provide products for surveillance, law enforcement, biometric identification, threat detection, and similar purposes.

Senior officials from many government agencies on both sides of the border are booked to attend, including representatives of various branches of the armed forces; federal, state, provincial and local law enforcement organizations; and of course the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

us border

The leaders of those last, Luc Portelance and Gil Kerlikowske respectively, will get things started with opening keynote speeches beginning at 8:30 on the morning of the 16th. The conference will wrap up after lunch the next day having featured presentations from the Privy Council Office, Public Safety Canada, the RCMP, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard and FEMA, among others.

There’s also a networking reception on the evening of the first day, and a memorial ceremony honoring the fallen heroes of border enforcement during the morning of the second.

The conference’s advisory board chairman is former CBP commissioner Robert C. Bonner, who says it’s meant to get interested parties working together to respond to the challenges and opportunities involved in securing the border and moving legitimate goods and travelers across it more efficiently. The event is managed by conference/trade show producer Eagle Eye Expositions, which is also handling the 9th Annual Border Security Expo to be held in Phoenix next April.

You can visit the conference’s website to register and view schedule details, sponsorship information, and a list of attendees and speakers.