Ambassador of the European Union to the United States Visits St Louis

Michael Cross (right) with Tim Nowak (left), Director of the World Trade Center - St Louis at Growing Global 2018

MICHAEL CROSS
President, St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities

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​Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, Honorable Caroline Vicini made an official visit to St Louis for the region's largest annual international conference on September 21, 2018. The theme of the conference was Growing Global - The Political Economy of Trade, sponsored by the World Trade Center - St Louis and held at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, Missouri. Over 750 people were in attendance including CEOs of leading Italian businesses in the region as well as dignitaries from the U.S. government and from governments across the world. 

As president of the St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities, I had the opportunity to speak with Honorable Vicini about the growing number of Italians coming to St Louis for work, issues surrounding the acquisition of visas and passports encountered by many in our community, and our endeavor in re-igniting trade between Bologna, the Emilia-Romagna region, and St Louis. Honorable Vicini expressed her support and her desire to meet with us again as well as representatives of other E.U. member states to better understand the challenges and opportunities of E.U. citizens in the St Louis region.
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As the conference focused on issues surrounding global trade, the Italian Community of St Louis is also focused on the growth of Italian based businesses in the St Louis metropolitan area. Director of the World Trade Center - St Louis, Tim Nowak, expressed his interest in growing economic ties between Italy and the St Louis region. We exchanged strategies on how to reach more Italian businesses who might be interested in the St Louis ag-tech and agricultural science scene. The heart of agriculture is precisely in Bologna, our sister city, and its region, Emilia-Romagna, also known as the bread basket of Italy. 

Hon. Caroline Vicini (second to right) with panelists at the Growing Global conference in St Louis