NJ Gov. Will Visit East Asia To Talk Business On ‘Trade Mission’

NEWARK, NJ — New Jersey will be making a “trade mission” to East Asia this fall, Gov. Phil Murphy says. The goal? To talk about job creation and investment in the Garden State.

Murphy recently paid a visit to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark to announce plans for a nine-day trip to several nations in October, including Japan and South Korea.

Aside from Murphy, the New Jersey delegation will include elected officials, diplomats and leaders of business, culture and higher education, such as NJIT president Teik Lim.

The schedule will include meetings with companies and executives, trade organizations, government officials, higher education leaders, startup incubators and other key commercial and economic partners. Key industry sectors of focus will include infrastructure, clean energy, financial services, life sciences, technology, logistics, manufacturing, and food and beverage.

“Job creation in New Jersey, investment in New Jersey are the top two priorities,” Murphy said. “And I would broaden that also to acknowledge the deep cultural, familial, institutional, personal relations that we are proud to have in our New Jersey community with both of those nations.”

“We will make sure it is worthwhile,” the governor said.

Tom Bracken, CEO of the NJ Chamber of Commerce, said that the state has an “attractive value proposition” for East Asian companies looking to expand or relocate to the United States.

“Our state’s strategic location, robust infrastructure, and skilled workforce make it the ideal place to do business,” Bracken said.

New Jersey is home to the fourth-highest percentage of Asian Americans of any state in the nation, with a population of nearly one million Asian American residents, including more than 100,000 Korean Americans.

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The trade mission will be funded by the business nonprofit Choose New Jersey.

“We are thrilled to organize the Governor Murphy-led economic mission to East Asia to represent the very best of New Jersey and reaffirm our historic relationships with some of our most fundamental and trusted partners,” said Wesley Mathews, president and CEO of Choose New Jersey.

“Japan and Korea have thriving life sciences, technology, fintech, infrastructure, and clean energy industries and are closely aligned with New Jersey’s strategy to foster the innovation ecosystem,” Mathews said. “We are eager to collaborate and share our economic vision with our East Asian partners on this historic mission to the region.”

New Jersey’s relationships with Japan and South Korea generate more than $13 billion in annual shared economic activity, according to Choose New Jersey.

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