State, U.K. sign pact to foster trade. Investment

DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis and British Consul General Richard Hyde on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding between Colorado and the United Kingdom to foster cooperation on economic relations, trade and investment.

The new partnership is designed to develop and promote shared opportunities between Colorado and Great Britain in clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, quantum technologies, space technology, tourism and artificial intelligence — all important economic drivers for both economies.

“In Colorado we are focused on saving people money and increasing affordability,” Polis said in a prepared statement. “Solidifying and strengthening our longstanding relationship with the United Kingdom helps create more pathways for investments into Colorado businesses, expands good jobs in Colorado’s key economic sectors, and establishes a strong and lasting trade partnership with our friends in the U.K.”

Added Hyde, “This agreement marks a great step forward in our trade relationship with Colorado. We’re unlocking investment for businesses, creating new job opportunities and strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the U.K. and Colorado.”

Polis welcomed Hyde at the State Capitol for a bilateral meeting and MoU signing ceremony. The state and the U.K. will form a steering committee to oversee the implementation of the partnership, which will highlight opportunities to reduce barriers to trade and investment between the two regions and elevate new business development opportunities.

The MoU builds on a strong economic partnership between the two regions. In 2023, Colorado exported $214 million in goods to the U.K., while importing $260 million. The U.K. is also Colorado’s number one source of foreign investment. Over the last five years, British companies invested $1.5 billion in capital expenditures and provided an estimated 19,400 jobs in Colorado. Also over the last five years, Colorado companies invested an estimated $1.3 billion in capital expenditure and created an estimated 3,765 jobs in the U.K.

The state also routinely welcomes British delegations interested in Colorado’s business ecosystem in areas such as aerospace, agriculture, quantum technology and renewable energy. Additionally, the British government keeps an office in Denver to facilitate trade and investment.

The state department of Agriculture, the state department of Public Health and Environment, the Colorado Energy Office and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade supported development of the MoU.

“The U.K is a top economic partner for Colorado,” Eve Lieberman, OEDIT executive director, said in a prepared statement. “We are thrilled to strengthen this relationship and work together to identify new trade and investment opportunities that benefit Colorado businesses and create jobs in some of our state’s leading industries, including clean energy, quantum, space technology and tourism.”

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