Gov. Sanders announces trade mission to U.K., Belgium, and Ireland
Officials stand in front of a Dassault Falcon 8x Jet.
Gov. Sarah Sanders announced Monday (July 13) she will extend her trip to the Farnborough Air Show with trade missions in Ireland and Belgium.
The annual air show is a trade show for the aerospace and defense industries, two of Arkansas’ top exports. The air show rotates annually between Paris and Farnborough, near London. The governor’s trip will be July 19-24.
“I’ve had the privilege of representing Arkansas at the Paris Air Show and Farnborough Air Show since I took office, and in that time we’ve secured investments from aerospace and defense leaders like Dassault Falcon Jet, RTX, and Taber Extrusions,” Sanders said.
“This year, we’ll continue that proven track record at the Farnborough Airshow in the U.K. and in meetings with key business and government leaders in Belgium and Ireland.”
The Governor’s trip will include appearances at panels hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association, Irish-American Chamber, and Belgian-American Chamber, meetings with Lockheed Martin, RTX, Radius Aerospace, General Dynamics, Hanwha, Kingspan, and other prospective investors, and engagements with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Andrew Puzder, U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James Warren Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Edward Walsh, and U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White.
“International trade missions offer our team the chance to pitch Arkansas in-person to some of the largest companies in the world, many of which focus on Arkansas’ largest export industry – aerospace and defense – and I look forward to telling our great story this year and continuing to attract jobs and investment to the Natural State,” the governor added.
The governor’s previous trade missions to the Paris Air Show and Farnborough Airshow have helped secure Dassault Falcon Jet’s $100 million, 800-job expansion in Little Rock, RTX’s new, $33 million manufacturing facility in East Camden, which was later expanded to a $63 million investment, and Taber Extrusions’ $60 million, 70-job expansion in Russellville, she said.