Governor announces trade mission to Paris Air Show, Switzerland

Gov. Sarah Sanders announced Thursday (June 5) that she will travel to Paris and Switzerland for an economic trade mission from June 14-19.

The Governor’s trip will include appearances on a panel at the Paris Air Show hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association and a fireside chat hosted by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce.

According to an office press release, she will also pay tribute to Arkansans, including U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews, who is memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery’s Wall of the Missing and whose remains were only recently identified and who will be laid to rest in Arkansas on June 9.

“After the success of my first visit to the Paris Air Show in 2023 and Farnborough Airshow in 2024, during which we secured investments from aerospace and defense giants like Dassault Falcon Jet and RTX, I am excited that I will be representing Arkansas again this year,” said Sanders.

“I will begin in Normandy, paying tribute to our fallen soldiers shortly after the 81st anniversary of D-Day, before continuing onto the Paris Air Show to meet with major aerospace and defense companies, and then concluding the trip in Switzerland to discuss investing in Arkansas with several large corporations. International trade missions are a great way to pitch Arkansas to companies that might not otherwise have our state on their radar and have a proven track record of bringing in jobs and investment,” she added.

During the Governor’s previous trip to the Paris Air Show, her discussions helped facilitate Dassault Falcon Jet’s $100 million, 800 job expansion in Little Rock and RTX’s new $63 million manufacturing facility in East Camden.

Her trip to the London Farnborough Airshow last summer helped secure Taber Extrusions’ $60 million, 70 job expansion in Russellville, her office said.