UK and the State of Indiana hold Second Working Group meeting
The United Kingdom (UK) and state of Indiana governments attend the Second Working Group meeting in Indianapolis.
On Thursday 21 March 2024, representatives of the United Kingdom (UK) and state of Indiana governments attended the Second Working Group meeting in Indianapolis under the UK - Indiana Memorandum of Understanding. This meeting follows the first government-to-government working group discussion held in December 2022 and an economic discussion focused on the energy transition held in October 2023.
HM Consul General at the British Consulate in Chicago, Alan Gogbashian, co-chaired the meeting with Indiana Secretary of Commerce, David Rosenberg, which was attended by officials from the respective governments along with a broad range of representatives across business, industry, and academia. The discussion focused on ‘Future Frontiers: Applications at the Intersection of AI, Life Sciences, and Semiconductors’ and committed to further cooperation in these areas.
Since the last executive-level working group, there has been a multitude of trade and investment activity under the MoU including:
- A delegation of Indiana local economic development contacts, with a focus on sustainability, travelled to the UK and met with UK government representatives, academia, exporters interested in the US market, and investors.
- A group of UK electrical grid companies visited Indiana to connect with local utilities and the Mid-continent Independent System Operator (MISO) to share UK expertise as the state continues to diversify its energy mix.
- A mission of 12 female founders from the Northern Powerhouse region of the UK visited Indianapolis to learn about opportunities to grow their businesses in Indiana, connect with female business leaders from across the state, and develop their US market entry strategies .
- An announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy will fund the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, or MachH2, hub, intended to create many sources of hydrogen production, including at the BP Whiting Refinery. The hydrogen could then be used at local steel mills to cut down on carbon emissions.
Attendees at the Working Group also identified fresh opportunities for further activities to develop all areas of the MoU over the coming year, including:
- Smaller focus groups throughout the year focusing on AI, workforce development, life sciences, and sustainability.
- A round table showcasing UK expertise in the production, storage and transmission of hydrogen to the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2) in Indiana and explore ways to develop a Sister Hub relationship between MachH2 and Teesside in the UK.
- A webinar with the state of Indiana officials for UK companies to learn more about state procurement and identify ways in which UK companies can access procurement opportunities, following discussions between the UK Government and the Indiana Department of Administration.
- Initial discussions between the UK Government and the state of Indiana on potential professional engineering qualifications reciprocity for Indiana licensed and UK chartered engineers.
- A reciprocal female founders mission from Indiana to the UK, including a visit to the Northern Powerhouse region of the country.
The state of Indiana will host the 2024 Indiana Global Economic Summit in Indianapolis, 23-24 May 2024. The summit marks the second anniversary of the signing of the MoU between the UK and the state of Indiana and provides an opportunity to highlight the progress made on delivery against the MoU and the resulting strengthening of the ties between the two economies.