Premier Steven Marshall will today travel to the United States to attend Sea Air Space, the largest maritime expo in the United States, and meet with leaders in the space, defence and cyber security industries in Washington DC and Maryland.
Premier Marshall will also deliver the keynote address at the United States, Australia Dialogue on Defence Industries in Washington DC, an opportunity to brief US officials and leading defence industry experts on the extraordinary opportunities in South Australia, Australia's home of space industry and naval shipbuilding.
"South Australia is now driving the growth of Australia's space sector and defence industry, creating high-tech jobs and generating interest from interstate and overseas," said Premier Marshall.
"We need to ensure that everything taking place at Lot Fourteen is being showcased on an international scale, to attract investment from major companies, create more jobs and drive growth across South Australia's burgeoning space and defence sectors moving forward.
While in Washington the Premier will meet with NASA officials to discuss future collaborations between Australia and the U.S within the space sector.
"The headquarters of the Australian Space Agency, the SmartSat CRC, Mission Control and the Space Discovery Centre are all major drawcards for prominent players in the space industry to seriously consider South Australia as one of the best places to do business," said Premier Marshall.
"There are hundreds of companies from the United States already operating in South Australia, which demonstrates how crucial this relationship is to grow our economy.
"American defence organisations including Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing Defence already have a significant presence in our state and the State Liberal Government is committed to building on this to create local jobs across these high-growth industries.
"We need to make the most of these investments which are now presenting unprecedented opportunities to our current and future generations."
The Premier will also visit the National Cyber Security Centre of Excellence in Maryland, the state which is widely recognised as being an international cyber security hub.
"By forging connections with Maryland and learning from their success, we're seeking to grow this rapidly expanding sector right here in South Australia," said Premier Marshall.
"We are working to bring together these fast-moving sectors in South Australia, by providing companies with unparalleled collaborative opportunities, and bringing them within proximity of other major players in their fields.
"Driving growth across these sectors means we can stop the brain drain we've seen from South Australia in recent years and create jobs for our young people right here in our state."
