Hello from Melbourne, where Minnesota's trade mission to Australia has arrived in our third city.

Wednesday was a busy day of intergovernmental meetings to strengthen the political relationship between Minnesota and Australia – all to benefit businesses and workers in the years ahead.

Before traveling to Canberra, Governor Walz represented Minnesota in a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, updating her on our mission and the interest of Minnesota companies in exploring Australia as a market. Governor Walz thanked her for the embassy's support of our mission and her insight into the future of collaboration between Minnesota and Australia.

In the capital city of Canberra, we held a series of meetings with government leaders and Members of Parliament especially important to the business development goals of our mission.

With Australia Secretary of Defense Greg Moriarty and later Luke Gosling, a Member of Parliament and Head of the Parliamentary Friends of AUKUS Group, we discussed the vital Australia-UK-U.S. (AUKUS) trilateral security partnership and ways Minnesota can support that alliance. We talked about U.S. and Australian clean tech strategies and priorities with Chris Bowen, a Member of Parliament and Minister for Climate Change and Energy, and First Secretary Mathew Fox.

I talked about opportunities for collaboration on key areas within cybersecurity and critical technologies with Brendan Dowling, Australia's Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology.

We also had the somber opportunity to visit the Australian War Memorial, to pay respect to and appreciation for the sacrifices of Australian servicemen and servicewomen in defense of freedom worldwide.

Late Wednesday we arrived in Melbourne, to meet up with other members of the trade delegation. While we were in Canberra, the MedTech track met with BioMelbourne and toured the Parkville Precinct - an opportunity one of the delegates said justified the entire trip. The CleanTech track was witnessing how innovation is spurring job growth while improving the planet at incredible sites in the suburbs of Melbourne. We will spend the next several days holding meetings with businesses and economic development organizations as we continue our mission.

This week illustrates the global nature of DEED's nonstop work to grow Minnesota businesses – because it's happening simultaneously on three different continents. While we are on this trade mission in Australia, at home we announced $7.4 million in funding for six business expansions, expected to create 430 jobs and leverage more than $270 million in outside investment. And in Germany, DEED is representing Minnesota at the annual Medica Trade Fair, telling our story of medical innovation and health care leadership to a global audience of med tech businesses.

I'm grateful to Minnesota's business development leaders – within our agency and embedded in the critical industries we serve – who continue to promote our state as one of the best places in the world for companies to launch, grow and flourish.