Vivian Watts, Virginia House of Delegates

Dear Friends
It is my honor to commend your acumen in forming The American Korean Businessmen Friendship Forum. Heightened threats to the global economy make it particularly crucial to strengthen relationships with long time allies and trusted partners. Your timely initiative will have wide benefits to ensuring competition, technological advancement, innovation, and to countering inflationary geopolitical manipulation of access to raw materials.

Your choice of Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of this Business Friendship Forum could not be more relevant to the opportunities that the United States and Korea must embrace to strengthen the free world’s economic resilience and build climate sustainability. Virginia’s substantial investment in our ports – ranked 6th in the world – ensures international supply chain access for goods and raw materials, while Dulles Airport’s growth capacity ensures direct management access and Northern Virginia’s datacenters ensure unfettered communication.

However, it is the prowess of Korean entrepreneurs that will help realize the full potential of these assets to a worldwide, free economy and to our citizens. To meet our public policy challenges, I am grateful for the continued dynamic development of the Korean economy to further expand clean vehicles, battery storage, pharmaceuticals, and research in rare element alternatives. As an American consumer，I am excited by the prospect of ever greater choice to address basic needs and to entice interest.

I am grateful for your leadership in inaugurating The American Korean Businessmen Friendship Forum to strengthening our trusted and most productive partnership.