The Kansas Department of Commerce is pleased to welcome to Kansas the annual meeting between trade representatives from the United States and the European Union. Nick Jordan, Interim Secretary, and Stan Ahlerich, Executive Director for Workforce and Innovation, will both be speaking at the meeting. The meeting will be held on Thursday, October 19, at the Wichita State University Innovation Campus.

The Wichita meeting marks the first time the United States has hosted the event outside of Washington, DC. The EU hosted last year’s event in Estonia. The annual meeting is a collaborative effort between the United States and the European Union to bring together small and medium businesses and stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic with US and EU officials to discuss trade issues of particular interest to small business.

This year’s meeting will focus on expanded European trade opportunities for small and medium sized businesses. Small and medium sized businesses from around the country are invited, along with community leaders and economic development officials. 

Nick Jordan, Interim Secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce, will speak on exporting opportunities for Kansas small businesses and how the agency provides support to grow exporting from the state.

Stan Ahlerich, Executive Director for Workforce and Innovation, will highlight the state’s pioneering Workforce Aligned with Industry Demand (AID) – a cooperative effort with the state Board of Regents to meet the workforce needs of Kansas employers.

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