      Governor Pete Ricketts told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that his trade mission to Great Britain and Ireland is off to a good start, but again emphasized that the goal of the trip is to strengthen relationships and not secure specific deals.
Ricketts and a combination of state officials and private industry representatives flew from Nebraska to London on Sunday, then spent the next 3 days in a combination of meetings and visits.
The governor said the talks so far have primarily involved agriculture and insurance, two areas where Nebraska is strong and where the state would be a good fit for the United Kingdom post-Brexit, the nation’s withdrawal from the European Union.
On Tuesday,Ricketts met with Penny Mordaunt, the UK’s Minister of State for Trade Policy, on ways to open up trade between the island nation and Nebraska.
Ricketts said with bilateral trade talks stalled between the British and American federal governments, the UK has begun reaching out to individual US states.
Ricketts told reporters he’s optimistic about the chances of increasing the sale of Nebraska beef in Great Britain
Ricketts also said members of the trade delegation have heard from representatives of other business sectors, such as cookware and electric bus manufacturers, that are looking to expand to the U-S.
The United Kingdom portion of the trip ends this morning as they fly to Ireland this afternoon. The trade mission was scheduled to coincide with the Husker football game Saturday in Dublin against Northwestern. They’ll return home Sunday..