OR-UK Memorandum of Understanding Ceremonial Signing Remarks
November 5, 2025
Good morning, everyone.
Thank you for coming to our beautiful state to celebrate this exciting, renewed partnership, Consul General Eleanor Kiloh. And thank you to all of the staff from the Embassy who traveled from San Francisco and New York to be here today. I am grateful for your partnership.
Oregon's economy doesn't stop at our state lines: our farmers, manufacturers, and tech companies depend on global markets. Strong international partnerships like this one open doors for Oregon businesses, create good-paying jobs here at home, and give our workers access to the expertise and opportunities they need to compete and thrive.
And, Oregon has one of the most trade-dependent economies in the nation. As a state, we are constantly looking for ways to support our local businesses, manufacture here at home, and provide Oregon-made goods across the world. I just returned from my first international trade mission to South Korea and Japan, where I saw firsthand just how invaluable it is to promote our trade and economic development relationships overseas.
The State of Oregon and the United Kingdom believe in collaboration built on shared values: creating opportunity for working families, protecting our environment, and ensuring no community is left behind as we build the economy of the future.
The Memorandum of Understanding we are signing today is a signal of our strengthened relationship. We are recommitting to accelerating our transition to clean energy, while making sure the workers and communities who have depended on these industries see themselves represented in our clean energy future. This partnership will create jobs, drive innovation, and move us closer to net-zero emissions.
The federal government has a role to play, but states have both the duty and the power to act. Our businesses need markets now. Our workers need opportunities now. Our climate can't wait. We're building these international partnerships because Oregonians are counting on us to lead, not to wait for someone else to do it for us.
Business Oregon will lead our state’s implementation efforts, working directly with the UK through trade missions, exchanges, and joint events to build business partnerships and open new markets.
This partnership is about more than an agreement on paper: it's about our collective future. It's about creating opportunity, leading on climate action, and showing what's possible when we work together across borders and across differences. That's the Oregon way, and that's the future we're building together. Thank you.