Governor Nathan Deal and the First Lady traveled to Germany on a weeklong economic trade mission in early July. They were accompanied by a twenty-person delegation, including corporate executives from Coca-Cola and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., leadership from the university and technical college systems of Georgia, as well as Economic Development Commissioner Chris Carr.

While in Germany, the Governor attended the Regional Leaders Summit, a biennial meeting of a seven member alliance that was founded in 2002 to promote exchanges and to improve competitiveness within specific regions. The alliance is comprised of: Bavaria, Germany; Georgia, USA; Québec, Canada; Shandong, China; São Paulo, Brazil; Upper Austria, Austria; and Western Cape, South Africa. After meeting in Georgia in 2014, this year’s meeting was held in Bavaria, Germany. Since 2002, more than 200 projects have been implemented between partner regions, resulting in collaborative exchanges and effective results.

Governor Deal also met with companies that have strong connections to Georgia as well as made prospect calls to a few companies considering expanding to the state. Overseas trips help establish and build relationships with companies by offering face-to-face meetings with corporate executives.

In addition, the Georgia delegation used the trip to learn about the world-class German workforce development and apprenticeship programs from companies that operate in Georgia.

From the Georgia Department of Economic Development: Georgia.org.