Rio Grande Valley leaders are teaming up with leaders in Mexico to re-brand themselves under a new name.

On Wednesday, local leaders met at the Harlingen Convention Center to discuss Rioplex, a new marketing campaign that will include all four Valley counties and northern Mexico.

The goal is to create new job opportunities and boost local tourism to make the entire area more attractive to outside investors.

Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez says people associate the Valley with immigration and border issues, but he says South Texas has a lot to offer when it comes to economic development.

Cortez says Rioplex will help reduce poverty and create more jobs in the region.

"Let's say, you have a special skill, but if you don't have the job here, then you're going to leave and go find that job somewhere else. So, we want to make sure the human capital we're creating will stay here by offering them the jobs," Cortez.

This initiative was started by the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force; they want to reduce the county's poverty rate.

Rioplex is similar to the marketing campaign that helped rebrand the Dallas-Fort Worth area as the Metroplex in the early 70s.

Cortez says the next steps in developing the Rioplex are to continue to meet with potential investors and showcase all the positive reasons to open a business in the Valley.