Each June, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration organizes an investment summit to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States. Bringing together investors, companies, and government officials, it provides ample opportunities to network—also for the Austrian companies participating at this year’s SelectUSA Summit in National Harbor, MD on 26-29 June, 2022.

Beyond the networking opportunities, the 2022 Summit also offered over 100 sessions and panels for participants to learn about investment incentives and opportunities in the U.S. and to interact directly with exhibitor showcases. In 2021, Austria was the sixth largest market in attendance at the summit and Austria continued to build on that pace in 2022 with another record-setting 35 member delegation. The Austrian delegation represented 27 companies across various industries from innovative tech start-ups to multinational leaders with US subsidiaries.

On 27 June, 2022, the Austrian Embassy hosted a reception for the Austrian delegation and US government representatives within the context of the ReFocus Austria initiative. In attendance were both the US Ambassador to Austria Victoria Kennedy and Austrian Ambassador to the US Martin Weiss. Other high-ranking government officials included the Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson, WKO Vice President Amelie Gross, the SelectUSA Executive Director Jasjit Singh, and Brent Parton, Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. Ambassador Kennedy and Director Singh both highlighted Austria collaboration with the US in developing best-practices for apprenticeship programs and the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year, in which both countries committed to continuing to make progress on that front.