Hello Kentucky!
Photo: Austrian Embassy
Ambassador Petra Schneebauer visited Kentucky from August 4-6, 2024 and accompanied Austrian delegations from Styria and Lower Austria to the Bluegrass State.
Highlights included a meeting with Governor Andy Beshear, where an invitation was extended to the Governor to visit the Lippizzaner Stud Piber, the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site in Styria. After all, horses are one common denominator that connect Austria and Kentucky.
In addition, the delegation enjoyed intensive days of discussions and meetings during the Legislative Summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Louisville. Topics of discussion included states’ readiness with regard to artificial intelligence, which was kicked off by Jennifer Pahlka, the founder of Code for America and the author of Recoding America.
Overall, the trip provided valuable opportunities to further connect Austria and Kentucky as the bilateral relationship with the United States continues to strengthen. This is also evident in the several large production facilities that major Austrian investors have established in the state. Trade volume between the Bluegrass State and Austria is particularly high in the chemical sector, where 98% of Kentucky’s exports go to Austria. The total volume of the state’s exports to Austria amounted to USD 1.43 billion in 2023, making Austria the eighth most important export destination for Kentucky worldwide. At the same time, Austria’s export volume to Kentucky was USD 647 million in 2023.
In addition to the many economic connections, ties between Austria and Kentucky also exist in academia, specifically through academic cooperation and exchange programs between the University of Kentucky and the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien).
In addition, Ambassador Schneebauer also highlighted the ongoing priorities in the field of workforce development, where Austria and the United States have partnered to improve the U.S. apprenticeship system, a partnership formalized in 2022 through a Memorandum of Understanding.
Ambassador Schneebauer thanked officials for the support that Austrian companies have received in Kentucky before heading back to Washington, DC.
