Pacific Rim envoys to explore trade on August visits to Great Falls, Helena and Bozeman

An entourage including five ambassadors and other top trade officials from Pacific Rim nations will visit Great Falls and other Montana cities in early August, organizers said Tuesday.

The trip, organized by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and others, will include ambassadors from Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Ranking officials from Japan, Thailand and New Zealand will be part of the group exploring trade opportunities.

By James E. Larcombe

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040721/localnews/884925.html

"This trip is about showcasing Montana and establishing business connections," said Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser late Tuesday. Baucus was unavailable for comment on the trade initiative Tuesday, he said.

A Great Falls grain industry leader said he was happy to hear about the visit.

"It’s a very significant event because the countries that are represented are all major buyers or potential buyers of Montana grain products," said Richard Owen, executive vice president of the Montana Grain Growers Association. "Japan is the number one buyer of Montana wheat. The other countries represent significant opportunities for us."

The group is to arrive in Great Falls the afternoon of Aug. 4. Officials will spend most of Aug. 5 touring the Great Falls International Airport and the Fed Ex operation on Gore Hill. Developing the air cargo capacity of the airport is a goal of Baucus and local officials.

"The Great Falls airport has a stellar reputation for moving the Customs clearing process along very quickly," Kaiser noted. "That’s a very big selling point."

Later in the day, the trade leaders will tour the Dana Ranch near Cascade before heading to the Helena area for dinner at the Winterburn Ranch. On Aug. 6, the group will tour defense contractor Summit Engineering, meet with Gov. Judy Martz and other state leaders.

The final leg of the tour involves a stop in Bozeman for dinner with Geoff Gamble, president of Montana State University, and a tour of the Tech Ranch, a technology business incubator.

Kaiser said the Montana trip is a follow-up to a Baucus trade trip to Asia in March. A number of Montanans took part in that trip, including Deb Kottel, a University of Great Falls professor and chairwoman of the airport authority board.

Efforts to reach Kottel, a leading advocate of developing air cargo capacity in Great Falls, were unsuccessful Tuesday.

Baucus is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over international trade policy. He has been advocate of foreign trade and has worked to create fast-track trade promotion authority for President Bush in 2001.

While many of the events during the trade visit will be invitation only, a breakfast on Aug. 5 at Baker Bob’s Big Stack Bakery in downtown Great Falls is open to the public, organizers said. Those interested in attending that event or other gatherings should call Baucus’ Great Falls office at 761-1574, Kaiser said.

The Great Falls leg of the trip will also include dinner at the C.M. Russell Museum, a tour of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and a "fly-by" of Montana Air National Guard F-16 aircraft.

Kaiser said a number of Montana business leaders, including representatives of the Missoula-based Washington Corp., will take part in the meetings.

While details are not complete, there will be security personnel accompanying the foreign officials as a precautionary measure, said Kaiser.

Larcombe can be reached by e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at (406) 791-1463 or (800) 438-6600.