Gov. Eric Holcomb focusing on overseas trips as part of his final few months in office

Gov. Eric Holcomb said Indiana can’t afford to have him take his foot off the gas in his final few months in office.

Holcomb is spending a lot of time overseas, working on foreign economic development.

Holcomb’s latest trip is to Australia and Singapore, his first to those countries as governor. The trip is focused on the advanced manufacturing, energy and defense sectors. Many of those connections, Holcomb said, were made at a global investment summit in Washington, D.C.

“So, it’s never that we go somewhere blind,” Holcomb said. “It’s always following up on a lead or an interest.

Holcomb said he has more trips planned. He said he wants to capitalize on new opportunities created by geopolitical tensions.

“Creating new friendships, new alliances, new shipping lanes, new supply chains, new supply lines,” Holcomb said. “And folks are de-risking and are looking for partners to grow.”

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The governor said focusing on overseas partners — typically large companies — doesn’t mean he’s ignoring businesses in Indiana.

“Small businesses need medium and large businesses. Large businesses need medium and small businesses,” Holcomb said. “It’s an ecosystem effort.”

Holcomb’s trips are paid for by private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation. The foundation is the nonprofit arm of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.