Beshear to go to United Kingdom, France & Ireland on economic development trip
Gov. Andy Beshear will travel to the United Kingdom, France and Ireland next week on a trip focused on Kentucky’s economic growth and job creation, the governor’s office announced Thursday.
Beshear, First Lady Britainy Beshear and members of his staff, including Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Jeff Noel, will make the trip “to meet with business leaders and trade officials to further Kentucky’s presence in the region and spur job growth for Kentuckians,” according to a news release.
“This visit provides us a great opportunity to connect with leaders of existing Kentucky businesses, companies we want to see invest, and trade organizations as we continue to show the world there’s no better place to do business than our New Kentucky Home,” Gov. Beshear said.
The team will meet with more than 45 companies over the course of a week. Of those companies, 16 are in existing industries in Kentucky that currently employ about 4,000 people.
The companies have current projects that could bring up to 2,900 full-time jobs and over $3.5 billion in investments to Kentucky, as well as future opportunities, the release said.
“We are fortunate to have a strong and diverse group of international companies here in Kentucky, and this is a great chance to build on that foundation and further those relationships to bring even more great jobs to our state,” Noel said.
Kentucky governors have regularly traveled internationally for economic development opportunities. Beshear has previously traveled to Japan and South Korea in 2024 on a similar trip. Earlier that year, he also traveled to Germany and Switzerland for economic development opportunities.
Beshear has frequently touted the economic development that has occurred in his tenure as governor as being record-breaking for the state. Under Beshear, projects totaling more than $43 billion in investments have been announced, creating more than 63,200 jobs, his office said.
Large economic development projects under Beshear include Ford Motor Co. and SK On’s $5.8 billion, 5,000-job facility in Hardin County and Envision AESC’s $2 billion, 2,000-job project in Warren County.