12/7/2006

State of Bavaria is feature State at the Gala 2006 Reception hosted by the GACC, Philadelphia

On November 17, 2006, the State of Bavaria was the feature state at the GALA 2006, an annual fund-raising event, hosted by the German-American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) Branch Office in Philadelphia, PA. The event was held at the Society Hill in Philadelphia and guests included prominent leaders of the international business community in the Philadelphia Tri-State Area (PA, NJ, and DE). It was the first year that the GACC featured a German federal state. Bavaria welcomed the opportunity support the GACC Philadelphia with its efforts to raise money for local university student grants.

Bavaria presented its location advantages at the Gala 2006 underscoring the state's commitment to its educational system to assure a full pipeline of scientifically, professionally and vocationally qualified people. Bavaria and Pennsylvania enjoy strong ties, also supported by a representative office for the state of Pennsylvania located in Bavaria's capital city of Munich. The two states have many similarities with established industry clusters in life science and IT.

The State of Bavaria U.S. Office for Economic Development welcomed the guests on behalf of Bavaria's Minister for Economic Affairs, Mr. Erwin Huber, for participating in the GALA 2006 and invited potential investors to consider Bavaria as a business location. The evening included a big screen viewing of an image film with images that typify Bavaria's reputation as one of Europe's most dynamic, innovative, economic powerhouses. Guests also enjoyed traditional Bavarian culinary delights and wine from Bavaria's Franconia region.

Contributing to Bavaria's robust economy, which is currently ranked 6th largest in the EU, are eleven U.S. companies from Pennsylvania that have established a location in Bavaria. Also, there are seven Bavarian companies that make Pennsylvania their home in the United States. Bavaria strongly believes in marketing its strengths to the U.S. and international business community and to inviting the U.S. investor to take advantage of the many strategic advantages that Bavaria offers with its pro-business government policies, strong industry and government networks and geographically central location on the European continent.

Source: Invest-in-Bavaria, NY Office