First on the wing will be a delegation of business and community leaders from southwestern Pennsylvania who have their eyes set on Asian markets and are heading to Vietnam on an 8-day sales call to promote bilateral trade in one of Southeast Asias most robust economies.
As part of a multi-year strategy guided by the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance to connect southwestern Pennsylvania enterprises to promising Asian markets, the visit to Vietnam, including Pittsburgh’s sister city DaNang, the capital Ha Noi, and Ho Chi Minh City, seek to introduce business capabilities that can contribute to the increasing urbanization and industrialization of the country.
That will include companies from the region with a wide range of capabilities in information and communications technology, the life sciences, advanced manufacturing and energy. While seeking new relationships, the mission will also build upon some already established, including a visit to the Ho Chi Minh City facility of Saxonburg-based II-VI, Inc., a world leader in crystal growth technology.
“When the world comes out of recession,” Allegheny Conference on Community Development CEO Michael Langley said in a statement, “Vietnam, growing now even during the downturn, should emerge looking to invest in goods and services from the west.”
In March, Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development will lead a statewide group of visitors in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Hardwoods Development Council and Duquesne University’s Small Business Development Center on a five-day trip to Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey–three major cities in Pennsylvania’s second largest trading partner.
Aimed at small-to-medium companies, the mission will provide assistance for making “important strategic business connections that they may not have had the support or wherewithal to do on their own,” DCED Secretary George Cornelius said in an announcement inviting participation.
Source: Allegheny Conference on Community Development; PA Department of Community and Economic Development
Writer: Joseph Plummer
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