Gov. Evers, WEDC Announce Memorandum of Understanding to Bolster Economic and Educational Partnership with France

Amid global trade uncertainty, Evers Administration bolsters economic and educational partnership with French region, expanding global opportunities for agriculture, energy, advanced manufacturing, and biotherapies and health sciences

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers announced today that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Agence Économique Régionale (AER) of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (BFC) region in France have approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote closer economic and educational relations between the two organizations. The agreement creates a framework for the two entities to coordinate, facilitate the exchange of expertise, foster the development of collaborative projects, and assist with the growth and development of companies in their respective territories.

“Here in Wisconsin, we’ve been proud to create and maintain strong partnerships with our friends abroad, and this partnership with the BFC region of France is a big step forward toward ensuring the continued growth, expansion, and certainty for our local businesses and regional economies,” said Gov. Evers. “Especially as we continue to see global trade uncertainty and chaos out of Washington, I’m proud of my administration’s efforts to develop and maintain partnerships and friendships with international partners that will continue to pay dividends for Wisconsin’s future economic success for future generations, and this partnership is proof of that good work.”

The agreement grew from a visit by Gov. Evers and WEDC leaders to the BFC region as part of a trade mission to Germany and France in 2025 . Wisconsin and the BFC region of France share a number of economic characteristics that make them natural partners, including having a strong manufacturing base, a globally recognized food and agricultural sector, world-class research universities, and a growing focus on biohealth and energy innovation.

“Wisconsin has a long tradition of education, research, and innovation that makes it a natural partner for global collaboration,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO John W. Miller. “We are pleased and honored to formally begin this new relationship with the AER and our colleagues in the BFC region.”

AER BFC region President Arnaud Marthey.

Building on those shared strengths, the MOU identifies four priority areas for collaboration—agri-food, energy, advanced manufacturing, and biotherapies and health sciences. Under the agreement, WEDC and AER will work to connect companies, research institutions, and investors across these sectors and support joint projects between them.

“It is clear our two regions were already doing the same things in different places,” said BFC President Jérôme Durain. “This MOU gives that work a name and a calendar. I’ll lead our delegation back to Wisconsin and Chicago this October, and I want us to leave with actual projects on the table, starting with biotherapies and agri-food.”

“Gov. Evers’ visit to our region last year was the starting point,” said AER BFC region President Arnaud Marthey. “Since then, we’ve already built a real partnership with BioForward on biotherapies. This MOU gives us the same kind of framework for agri-food, energy, and advanced manufacturing.”

Last year’s visit by Gov. Evers led to the creation of a formal relationship between the AER and Wisconsin-based BioForward in the fields of biotherapies and healthcare, with representatives from AER joining BioForward’s annual summit in 2025 and 2026. Gov. Evers and President Durain both expressed a desire to broaden this collaboration into the wider economic sphere. President Durain will soon lead a BFC delegation to Wisconsin, with a program focused on biotherapies and agri-food, the two sectors named as MOU priorities.

This announcement comes as, earlier this summer, Gov. Evers led a trade mission to Ghana and South Africa to bolster international trade efforts, promote state exports, and ensure Wisconsin’s vital industries, businesses, families, workforce, and economy continue to thrive. The governor’s trade mission to Ghana and South Africa was his fourth trade mission as governor. The governor has previously led trade and investment missions to Japan in 2019 , Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in 2023 , and, as noted above, Germany and France in 2025 .

Original version of this release is available here .

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