SAVANNAH, GA, USA - With the intention of increasing trade and investment in Savannah, WTC Savannah assisted the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) in its business development missions to Istanbul, Turkey and Munich, Germany this past April. The focus of these visits was to establish and further develop connections with business leadership in each city, generate relationships for potential future trade missions and identify opportunities for mutual investment.

While in Istanbul, SEDA leadership worked extensively with the talented team at WTC Istanbul for meetings, meeting space, transportation and translation. In addition, SEDA President and CEO Tollison gave a presentation titled “Business and investment opportunities in Savannah, Georgia and the USA” to a number of interested Turkish businesses at the WTC Istanbul.

SEDA’s visit to Germany was its fourth business development mission in only 11 months. During the visit, SEDA met with various political and business leadership to reiterate Savannah’s interest in further developing business opportunities between the aerospace clusters in Bavaria and the Savannah region.

WTC Savannah is the international division of SEDA and shares its mission to create jobs and attract investment. The aim of their efforts within Turkey and Germany is to develop closer business ties.

Among its many attributes, Savannah is home to the fourth largest and fastest growing port in the U.S. and the headquarters of Gulfstream Aerospace and JCB Inc.'s Americas. The Savannah region is built on the foundation of a diverse economy, which includes manufacturing, tourism, port-related operations, government/military and agriculture and agribusiness. Additionally, the Savannah region is committed to cultivating its growing number of creative and technical businesses like film, television and game development which are directly related to the pool of more than 8,000 students at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

For additional information on this article, please contact Tory Grubbs, Manager of Trade Services and Programs of WTC Savannah, at tgrubbs@wtcsavannah.org.