Utah deepens partnerships across during trade mission across New Zealand and Australia
From Sydney to Auckland, Utah’s October 2025 trade mission — led by Gov. Spencer Cox and organized by World Trade Center Utah in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity — deepened partnerships across New Zealand and Australia in sectors ranging from advanced manufacturing to education and energy.
Throughout the visit, Deseret News journalist Jason Swensen captured the delegation’s meetings with investors, innovators, and government leaders shaping both economies. A feature by Mining Weekly highlighted Utah’s growing role in critical minerals and shared opportunity with Australia’s mining industry. Together, these stories showcase how Utah continues to build trusted global relationships and position its businesses for international growth.
Australia/New Zealand trade mission: Elevating Utah’s global business reach ‘Down Under’
The geographical distance separating Utah from Auckland, New Zealand, is more than 7,000 miles — and the gap between the Beehive State and Sydney, Australia, is even wider.
But in today’s ever-shrinking global economy, they’re veritable neighbors.
As officials at World Trade Center Utah are apt to say: “Opportunity knows no distance.”
A delegation of some 80 people — led by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox — traveled to Auckland for a few days before moving on to Sydney for an Oceania-based trade mission.
‘Tēnā koutou katoa’: Gov. Cox calls for increased trade between Utah and New Zealand
It’s a bit unusual for Gov. Cox to apologize before even greeting his audience.
But it’s also a bit unusual for Cox to greet his audience in Māori.
“I probably will offend many of you,” he said at the beginning of remarks Monday at the University of Auckland. “So I hope you’ll forgive me. Tēnā koutou katoa,” said Cox, delighting his audience. Translation: “Greetings to you all.” The governor’s visit to the island nation’s largest university helped kick off an ongoing trade mission to New Zealand and Australia organized by World Trade Center Utah that’s populated by a sizable delegation that includes lawmakers, industry leaders and educators.
Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to a global audience in Australia about mining opportunities in Utah
The World Trade Center Utah’s 2025 trade mission to New Zealand and Australia has been in the works for several months.
So some call it serendipitous that the Utah delegation — which includes lawmakers, educators and industry leaders — would be participating in Australia’s IMARC at a moment when critical and rare minerals are snagging global headlines.
“We are open for business — and we hope to see you there.”
IMARC 2025: Republican Governor spearheads Utah’s aggressive pitch at IMARC
An ambitious plan to position the state of Utah at the fulcrum of the world’s resource needs has seen the largest-ever delegation from the United States at this year’s International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney. Gov. Cox, who has famously called for Americans to “disagree better,” is leading a team of policy makers, researchers, explorers, operators, innovators and investors from a state not only rich in natural resources, but also in innovation and tech.
Why are Republican lawmakers playing key roles in the Australia/New Zealand trade mission?
Gov. Cox is the undisputed public face of the 80-delegate trade mission to New Zealand and Australia — meeting with ranking foreign leaders, speaking at an international mining conference and joining a ribbon cutting for a major Sydney-based clean-tech company.
Counted among the trade mission delegates are several state officials.
Each — whether elected or appointed — have specific reasons for joining the trade mission. Northern Utah’s Rep. Karen Peterson, for example, has a local interest in Hill Air Force Base, so she’s been joining the trade mission’s aerospace and defense track throughout the week.
‘Why Utah?’: Australian business leaders join Utahns to tout industry in the Beehive State
So why should companies in geographically remote nations such as Australia and New Zealand do business with a U.S. state such as Utah?
That’s the question many involved in Utah’s ongoing trade mission across the two South Pacific countries are enthused to answer.
On the penultimate afternoon of the trade mission, a panel consisting of delegates and Australian business executives took a shot at that trade mission-defining question: “Why Utah?”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox talks trade mission, his hopes for the next 3 years and beyond
By the time he sat down with a reporter Friday to talk about all things “Trade Mission,” Gov. Cox had spent more than a week traversing multiple time zones and meeting with a prime minister and dozens of government officials.
He had toured an Auckland space institute. Participated in a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony. Swapped ideas with New Zealand’s Paralympics leaders. Donned a Utah Mammoth cap for a bumpy flight to Australia. Strategized with Utah lawmakers. Delivered a plenary address at an international mining conference. And, finally, toured a Sydney biorefinery that recovers gold, copper and other metals from discarded electronic appliances.
Utah and Australian lawmakers find unexpected common ground
At first glance, a team of visiting Utah lawmakers and their Australian hosts would not appear to share much in common.
They have different forms of government — one, a republic; the other, a constitutional monarchy. Different continents. Different hemispheres. And vastly different time zones.
But the two geographically distant groups discovered they share a global concern: They are fiercely concerned about kids and digital safety.
And both groups are proponents of enhanced “bell-to-bell” cellphone use rules in schools.
Last week, a team of Utah Republican lawmakers were in Sydney as part of a broad trade mission to Australia and New Zealand organized by World Trade Center Utah.
