Worcester execs to accompany Patrick on Europe trip

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By Gintautas Dumcius State House News Service

Gov. Deval Patrick is planning another overseas trip, with mid-September stops in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom.

Between Sept. 14 and19, Patrick and a group of administration officials and private-sector business officials will travel to Copenhagen, Lyon, Paris and London, his office said Thursday.

All three European countries are export partners with Massachusetts.

The 34-member delegation will include Patrick’s economic development chief, Gregory Bialecki, and Transportation Secretary Richard Davey, National Grid Massachusetts President Marcy Reed, and Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the Mass. Life Sciences Center.

Others who will be on the trip include Becker College President Robert Johnson; Tim Loew, executive director of the Mass Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI); and MassDiGI Managing Director Monty Sharma. MassDiGI is located on Becker’s Worcester campus.

The agenda includes a tour of the Lilligrund Wind Farm near Copenhagen, a meeting with United Kingdom government officials, and visits to companies and business organizations focused on innovation, clean technology, digital gaming, financial services and education.

Patrick also plans to address the Movement of the Enterprises of France and the Parish Chamber of Commerce.

The trip to the United Kingdom is Patrick’s second as governor. During his tenure, Patrick has also visited the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Chile and Brazil.

“This mission is a tremendous opportunity for us to cultivate new relationships and strengthen existing ones with key global growth centers in Europe to compete for jobs and position Massachusetts as the prime destination for business growth,” Patrick said in a statement.

According to Patrick’s office, France is the Bay State’s 13th largest export partner. Massachusetts exports $647.3 million in goods and services to France, and imports $958 million.

The United Kingdom is the state’s seventh largest export partner. In 2013, Massachusetts exported $1.4 billion in goods and services and imported $2.41 billion.

Denmark, which has a life sciences cluster in Medicon Valley, is the state’s 40th largest export partner. Massachusetts exported $60.3 million in goods and services and imported $48.5 million in 2013.