Delaware enters economic development partnership with North East England

In a push for increased international economic growth for Delaware businesses, state economic development organization Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) has entered a partnership with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), a public-, private- and education-sector partnership in North East England, UK.

The cooperative agreement is designed to support joint business development and to create more and better jobs in the regions. Per a press release, DPP and LEP will “work together to support mutually beneficial international expansion” for companies working in these fields:

• Bioscience/life science and wind supply chain
• Advanced engineering and fintech
• Innovation and skills

North East England. (Courtesy image)

North East England is one of nine official regions of England and about a third larger than the state of Delaware; its population of about 2 million is about twice that of Delaware). It includes the areas of County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

“This agreement was a natural fit for our organizations and for the areas we represent,” said Kurt Foreman, president and CEO of DPP, in a statement.

“Delaware and North East England will actively support one another in sectors where we both have strengths, helping our local companies become international companies by directly connecting them to our partners overseas. We look forward to the cross-Atlantic success stories and the jobs that will follow.”

The two organizations will also collaborate by supporting joint events and encouraging “cross-education and training” through their local universities.

Delaware and North East England have similar strengths, said Andrew Hodgson, chair of the North East LEP.

“Delaware’s strengths in financial services, health and life sciences, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing match those of the North East, so I see a great opportunity for us to work together to create opportunities for local companies to collaborate and do business,” Hodgson said. “Targeted region-to-region agreements like this demonstrate how we will use our Local Industrial Strategy to connect North East England into global trading networks.

To learn more about DPP the partnership, go to choosedelaware.com.