- Gov. Spencer Cox will lead Utah trade mission to New Zealand and Australia.
- The trade mission will focus largely on aerospace and defense, critical minerals and fintech.
- Utah business leaders say the Beehive State continues to emerge as a key player in the global economy.
The geographical distance separating Utah from Auckland, New Zealand, is more than 7,000 miles — and the gap between the Beehive State and Sydney, Australia, is even wider.
But in today’s ever-shrinking global economy, they’re veritable neighbors.
As officials at World Trade Center Utah are apt to say: “Opportunity knows no distance.”
A delegation of some 80 people — led by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox — is traveling to Auckland for a few days before moving on to Sydney next week for an Oceania-based trade mission.
The delegation is a diverse group that includes lawmakers and leaders from the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, Utah-based business and industry leaders and educators and innovators such as University of Utah President Taylor Randall.
Organized by World Trade Center Utah, the New Zealand & Australia Trade Mission 2025 will focus primarily on three key industries: Aerospace and defense, critical minerals and financial technology.
Both Utah’s economy and national security are closely tied to strong trade partnerships with allies, Cox said in a statement to the Deseret News.
“This trade mission is about strengthening our defense and technology sectors, expanding access to critical minerals and opening new markets for Utah businesses.
“Every meeting and conversation is focused on creating more opportunity and prosperity for the people of Utah.”
Why have a Utah trade mission in the southwestern Pacific?
Australia and New Zealand have not traditionally been aggressive trading partners with Utah.
But World Trade Center Utah President & CEO Jonathan Freedman is certain growth can be had between Utah and its distant neighbors.
“Strategically,” he said, “we’re going to solve national security interests together.”
Freedman points to Utah’s defense companies as being natural partners in the global challenges shared between the United States and Australia. Many of Utah’s defense-connected trade mission delegates have strong backgrounds in deep tech such as AI, quantum computing and cybersecurity.
“Our companies bring a lot to the table there, and the (trade mission) will provide opportunities to collaborate and for Utah companies to grow — not just in the size and scale of our innovation, but also to solve strategic and national security problems and geopolitical issues.”
“We stand to have an outsized impact directly from this trade mission.”
Freedman said the Australia/New Zealand trade mission will also provide opportunities to showcase the technological innovations coming from Utah’s universities. Meanwhile, many of Utah’s critical minerals and mining leaders will connect with their global counterparts at an international mining and resource conference next week in Sydney.
Developing and enhancing finance collaborations between Utah industry and Australia is another trade mission priority.
Such partnerships stretch beyond simply deepening trade, said Freedman.
“But also (building) relationships and elevating Utah on the global stage,” he said.
What makes Utah industry attractive to Australia and New Zealand?
The Beehive State and its commitment to industry long ago helped earn it the moniker “The Crossroads of the West.”
“But at World Trade Center Utah,” said Freedman, “our vision is to make Utah the ‘Crossroads of the World’.”
“And it’s happening right before our eyes. We see it with the Utah Inland Port Authority. We see it with a new Salt Lake City Airport, $5 billion plus airport … and having a Delta hub with 12 nonstop global flights to four continents.
“It connects us. It makes the world a smaller place, and it makes international business that much easier.”
Freedman added Utahns already enjoy a culture of global-mindedness and entrepreneurship.
“We have an economy consisting of small- and medium-sized enterprises, which makes us uniquely diverse and resilient,” he said.
“A result of that is that we’re also nimble. When you combine our entrepreneurism and our global-mindedness, it equates to international opportunities.”