The LEG foreign-trade team identified Belarus as an interesting market for Thuringian companies, stating it could become an export market for companies in Thuringia because of upcoming major projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China. Against this backdrop, a trip to Minsk and Brest is planned for September to explore the market Belarus, before shifting the focus to the Greater Zürich area in November. “A large number of Thuringian companies are already successfully exporting to Switzerland or cooperating with Swiss partners. There are good opportunities for making connections here, which can be solidified during the trip,” says Dr. Stefan Blechschmidt, Head of Thuringia International. The same also applies to the American markets: together with China, the USA is the most important sales market for Thuringia and the most important source of foreign investments. During the business trip in October, there are plans to meet with companies such as NCR, Siemens Large Manufacturing Lab and BMW in Atlanta and Charlotte. The agenda also includes a visit to Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) and its renowned institutes for robotics and intelligent machines and to an IoT hub with its numerous companies and research facilities in Atlanta. (gro)
