Connecticut economic development officials will pay nearly $300,000 over the next year to promote Connecticut abroad with a particular focus on four foreign countries: Brazil, China, Germany and Israel.
The Department of Economic and Community Development hired the Connecticut Economic Resource Center to handle a number of international responsibilities for the state.
DECD Deputy Commissioner Ronald Angelo outlined the arrangement in a July 9 letter to CERC President Robert Santy.
Angelo participated in a May trade mission to China featuring a business-class flight and stays at luxury hotels.
A CERC spokesman referred questions to DECD. The agency did not respond to requests for comment.
The letter puts an emphasis on identifying and recruiting foreign investors. CERC will also provide other logistical and marketing support, such as supporting trade missions and participating in trade shows.
“Package and promote the state’s existing bioscience funding vehicles, industrial park infrastructure and research and development capabilities into a public-and-private, domestic-and-international partnership platform abroad,” Angelo wrote in the letter.
He also specifically charged CERC with attracting foreign investment into Connecticut-based private-equity funds.
Under the agreement CERC will “forge constructive and material partnerships” with foreign entities with “proven construction expertise” to finance infrastructure projects and create local jobs.
CERC will also act as the state’s “de facto foreign representative” and “in-house subject matter expert on foreign markets.”
CERC is a nonprofit, public-private partnership that supports economic development in Connecticut with research and marketing.