WA trade mission heading to Vietnam without Inslee

Washington business and government leaders will head to Vietnam next week to strengthen the state’s cultural, economic and educational ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

But Gov. Jay Inslee won’t be joining them as planned. Inslee was going to lead the roughly 45-person delegation but after a recent bout of pneumonia his doctor recommended against long-distance travel, his office announced Thursday.

Michael Fong, director of the state Department of Commerce and Derek Sandison, director of the state Department of Agriculture are instead heading up the five-day trade mission, scheduled to begin April 8.

Four Democratic state lawmakers – Sens. Joe Nguyễn of White Center and June Robinson of Everett and state Reps. My-Linh Thai of Bellevue and Steve Tharinger of Sequim – and David Schumacher, the director of the state Office of Financial Management are also in the group.

Representatives from state ports, the education sector, and various industries will also join.

Participants will spend two-and-a-half days each in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the governor’s office. They will be meeting with Vietnam leaders and visiting manufacturing facilities in pursuit of increasing trade and collaboration in agriculture, clean energy and artificial intelligence.

Vietnam’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the region. Washington companies with a presence there include Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and SSA Marine. In 2023, Vietnam was Washington state’s fifth largest export market when including agriculture such as apples, wheat and dairy.

A $150,000 earmark in the state budget will cover some of the costs associated with the junket.

Last year, Inslee attended the Paris Air Show in June and led a trade mission to Australia in November. He headed up a delegation to Finland, Sweden and Norway in September 2022.