Kentucky governor predicts trip to Germany and Switzerland will reap more business investments

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear predicted Thursday that his recent economic development trip to Germany and Switzerland will reap more business investments in the Bluegrass State.

The Kentucky delegation met last week with leaders of companies already established in the state and cultivated ties with other businesses looking to invest in the U.S., the Democratic governor said. The response was “overwhelmingly positive,” Beshear said at his weekly news conference.

“I know that we left this trip keeping jobs intact that a company or two may have thought about moving elsewhere,” Beshear said. “But I also know we’re going to see expansions or new locations coming out of this. Just about every meeting went as well as we could have asked for.”

It was Beshear’s first overseas economic development trip as governor but likely won’t be his last. The governor revealed that his team is working to arrange a similar trip to Japan and South Korea.

Touting Kentucky’s record pace of economic development growth during his tenure is a recurring theme for Beshear, who raised his national profile by winning reelection to a second term last year in the Republican-leaning state. He typically starts his weekly press briefings by recounting the state’s newest economic development projects.

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