The AUKUS Forum, a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, has opened a satellite office in the World Trade Center Arkansas in Rogers.
AUKUS Forum leadership traveled to Arkansas for the 2024 Mid-America Aerospace + Defense Summit held in August in Rogers where they met with American and international defense firms as part of a broader effort to forge ties with international military equipment manufacturers and attract foreign direct investment to Australia, which is working to build a domestic defense industry, including nuclear submarines.
Chad Causey, head of the Arkansas Aerospace and Defense Alliance, said the trade association and World Trade Center Arkansas will be working with the AUKUS Forum “to find trade pathways and market collaboration for the U.S., U.K. and Australian aerospace and defense companies.”
“At the same time, we will work with AUKUS Forum to identify opportunities for aerospace and defense companies in Australia,” Causey told Arkansas Times.
In a social media post, AUKUS announced Michael Sharpe, its CEO, met with Gov. Sarah Sanders during the Rogers aerospace and defense conference and now has a “special office” that will “boost collaboration and trade, and help bolster research and innovation.”
Arkansas is increasingly on the map for its growing military industrial complex, largely concentrated in the southern part of the state. Major defense contractors, including munitions-maker General Dynamics Inc. and Aerojet Rocketdyne, a missile producer, have operations around Camden.
The Arkansas Economic Development Commission lists nearly 150 aerospace and defense companies with facilities around Arkansas.
Formed in 2021, AUKUS Forum “is intended to strengthen the ability of each government to support security and defense interests, building on longstanding and ongoing bilateral ties,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense. A particular focus of the partnership is countering growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Affiliated with the University of Arkansas, the World Trade Center Arkansas works to bolster the state’s international engagement and economic development.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66d894fa9d2d477a929a10b0ccb46b4a&url=https%3A%2F%2Farktimes.com%2Farkansas-blog%2F2024%2F09%2F04%2Faukus-forum-opens-special-office-in-arkansas&c=16572533660322961510&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-04 00:12:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.