enterpriseSeattle, formerly known as the Economic Development Council for Seattle and King County, today signed a new alliance with Invest Brisbane to drive foreign direct investment between the Puget Sound Region and Brisbane, Australia. The unprecedented strategic alliance, titled the New World Cities Alliance will create the first regional investment agency partnership for both King County and Brisbane, focused on sharing knowledge and talent to develop foreign direct investment, expansion and partnerships within key targeted industry clusters.
“The global investment climate has tightened and regions have become more competitive than ever before,” said Jeff Marcell, executive vice president and COO for enterpriseSeattle. “This regional partnership approach will be critical in foreign direct investment and helping companies in both regions to expand.”
“From our initial meeting with enterpriseSeattle one year ago, Seattle had been identified as a region that was well matched with Brisbane’s sector capabilities,” said Invest Brisbane Director, Daniel Havas. “A critical piece to the strategic alliance was the common strengths in knowledge based sectors in Brisbane and Seattle, specifically in the creative industries, advanced manufacturing, information communication technology and biotechnology.”
“King County and Brisbane have many synergies, evidenced by the number of companies present in both regions such as Boeing, Hatch Mott MacDonald, SeaMobile, INSITU, Microsoft and others,” said enterpriseSeattle Executive Vice President and COO Jeff Marcell. “Today’s agreement is a deliberate step in the formal recognition of the synergies between our regions, and a creative approach to leverage each other’s technologies, talent and innovation.”
Both regional economic development organization share a strong focus on steering their economy towards knowledge-based industry sectors, drive commercial and corporate investment projects as well as having a strong ethic of collaboration with international enterprises.
Investment promotion activities under this creative alliance will include the provision of market information; access to professional services such as marketing, industry expertise and networks; and support on investment projects.
Other bilateral relationships that exist between the two regions is the Queensland and Washington State Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) specifically for the biotechnology sector, and joint university partnerships between Washington with The University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
About enterpriseSeattle
Founded in 1971, enterpriseSeattle, formerly known as the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County, is an economic development partnership charged with the mission of building a competitive, world-class economy in King County and its 39 cities. Funded through a combination of public and private investment, the organization provides one-on-one, confidential consulting services, free-of-charge, to businesses seeking to establish, expand, or relocate to the area. For more information, visit www.enterpriseSeattle.org.
Contacts:
enterpriseSeattle
Margo Shiroyama, 425-785-4015
mshiroyama@comcast.net