Hello from Sydney, where I'm proud to join Governor Walz, DEED's Minnesota Trade Office, the Department of Agriculture and dozens of Minnesota business and civic leaders on our state's first-ever trade mission to Australia.

We're here because the Minnesota-Australia relationship presents tremendous opportunities for Minnesota businesses looking for new customers, and Australian companies looking to invest in the North American market. 

Australia is already Minnesota's 13th largest trading partner, with total trade in goods valued at $579 million in 2022 – including exports of $438 million and imports of $141 million. But there is significant room for this economic partnership to grow: thanks to the United States' close social, political and economic ties with Australia; a virtually zero-tariff free trade agreement; and few barriers for businesses, Australia is a natural, receptive and important market for Minnesota goods and services.

On this trade mission, we are working to establish new economic and political ties with a major U.S. trading partner and facilitate better business-to-business relationships to benefit Minnesota companies and workers alike. I'm excited to update you on our progress throughout this mission.

Our trip started on Sunday. After landing in Sydney we hosted a welcome reception with our delegation of nearly 30 Minnesotans, representing companies, business development groups and higher education institutions on this mission. Our trip focuses on four industry streams – clean tech, med tech, higher education and agriculture – in which Minnesota and Australia share strengths and offer opportunities for collaboration. One of our mission goals is to open new doors for companies in these four sectors.

An early example of that work came Monday, when we joined a roundtable discussion with our clean tech and higher education delegations focused on engaging Australian and U.S. Indigenous communities in the clean energy transformation.

We discussed Indigenous economic development in the clean energy space, and ways governments can support clean energy projects with Indigenous peoples in both the U.S. and Australia. The clean energy transition is a generational opportunity for equitable economic growth: both the U.S. and Australia are investing heavily in clean energy, and it's imperative we make sure all communities share in the economic benefits of this transition.  

Today we also had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Consul General Christine Elder and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. The U.S. and Australia share strong diplomatic ties, and meetings like these ensure Minnesota will be top of mind in future political and economic negotiations.

I'm excited to continue our mission, and share more updates with you, on Tuesday.