Arkansas World Trade Center plans mission to India
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008
ROGERS - The organization that has promised to bring the world to Arkansas will soon take Arkansas to the world, leading an independent international trade mission.
The Rogers-based Arkansas World Trade Center, led by U. S. Rep. John Boozman, will take a group of Arkansas delegates to the international Innovative Technologies for Manufacturing Expo in Mumbai, India, Feb. 7-10.
More than 6, 000 representatives from around the world will attend the exposition, said Dan Hendrix, director of the Arkansas World Trade Center.
This will be the first independent mission for the Arkansas center. The group previously took a joint mission with the Montana World Trade Center to Brescia, Italy.
"This is an opportunity for us to connect the right people with the right people," Hendrix said.
A group of about 10 will attend the February event, Hendrix said. The Arkansas delegation will include real-estate professionals, entrepreneurs, educators and manufacturers.
In its first year of existence, the Arkansas center has hosted trade delegates and ambassadors from Central America and Asia. Other trade missions are planned for the future, Hendrix said.
"We're looking very closely at opportunities in Latin America," he said.
The World Trade Center opened its doors last spring several months after the University of Arkansas announced its lead role in setting up the local office. It is a member of the New York-based World Trade Centers Association, which gives affiliates and their members access to more than 750, 000 potential trading partners.
The association has nearly 300 trade centers across 85 countries and attempts to promote "peace and stability through trade."
Boozman was among those in early 2006 who envisioned the creation of the trade center in Northwest Arkansas.
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