Little Rock, Arkansas – Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be heading overseas from June 14 to 19 on a strategic trade mission aimed at strengthening Arkansas’ position in the global aerospace and defense market while also pursuing new investment opportunities in Switzerland.
This marks the governor’s third international trade mission in as many years, following her 2023 and 2024 appearances at the Paris and Farnborough Air Shows. In a statement announcing the trip, Sanders emphasized the importance of maintaining Arkansas’ momentum on the global stage.
“After the success of my first visit to the Paris Air Show in 2023 and Farnborough Airshow in 2024, during which we secured investments from aerospace and defense giants like Dassault Falcon Jet and RTX, I am excited that I will be representing Arkansas again this year,” Sanders said.
The governor’s itinerary begins in Normandy, France, where she plans to honor the memory of American soldiers lost in World War II, just days after the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings. Among those she will recognize is U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews, a fallen Arkansan whose remains were only recently identified. He is set to be buried in Arkansas on June 9. Sanders will visit the Normandy American Cemetery’s Wall of the Missing, where Andrews is memorialized.
From Normandy, the governor will travel to Paris for the 2025 Paris Air Show — one of the world’s most prominent aerospace events. There, she will join a panel hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association and engage with global defense leaders in hopes of bringing more investment to Arkansas. Her previous appearance at the Paris Air Show helped secure Dassault Falcon Jet’s $100 million expansion in Little Rock, which created 800 jobs, and led to RTX’s initial $33 million investment in East Camden — a project that has since grown to $63 million.
The final stop of the trade mission will take place in Switzerland, where Sanders is scheduled to participate in a fireside chat hosted by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. She is expected to meet with executives from major European companies to pitch Arkansas as a destination for new investment.
“International trade missions are a great way to pitch Arkansas to companies that might not otherwise have our state on their radar and have a proven track record of bringing in jobs and investment,” Sanders added.
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Her most recent overseas trip, to the Farnborough Airshow in 2024, helped attract a $60 million expansion by Taber Extrusions in Russellville, which is expected to create 70 new jobs.
This trip continues Sanders’ broader economic strategy of positioning Arkansas as a competitive hub for advanced manufacturing, especially in sectors like aerospace and defense. By actively engaging international companies face-to-face, the governor hopes to continue building trust and partnerships that translate into jobs back home.
As Sanders prepares to take Arkansas’ message abroad, officials across the state are hopeful that this trip will yield another round of transformative investments, just as previous missions have.
