Day Five:

We traveled from Germany to the UK today and arrived in London around 2pm. The news that is dominating the headlines is the fact that on June 27, the UK will have a new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who is replacing Tony Blair.

The UK is a little smaller than Oregon. It is a major financial market with the fifth largest economy in the world. The economy had a 3 percent economic growth in 2006. The major industries include steel, heavy engineering, manufacturing and textiles.

We passed through Hyde Park today, which is equivalent to New York's Central Park. It is a tribute to the Duke of Wellington. People still ride horses through Hyde Park including the cavalry. They plant "Plane" trees, a member of the sycamore family, in the park. The trees shed their bark every year as a protection against the pollution from the city of London.

In the evening, we attended a reception with the UK Motorsports Association. We discussed the possibility of building a wind tunnel in Indiana, similar to the Formula One wind tunnel we visited in Cologne. The investment could be as much as $50 million. It is a huge opportunity for Indiana to compete for the R&D dollars expected to be invested in the motorsports industry.

We also visited with executives of Keronite who are looking to expand their operations in the United States, possibly in Indiana. They started in Indiana with 3 employees and they now have 9.

Agriculture is also very important in the UK. The UK, Germany and Holland are the three most important countries in Europe with respect to agriculture. The UK is also looking into alternative energy sources, including bio-fuels and wind energy.

Thirty-four percent of all EU investment goes to the UK. On any given day approximately 500,000 Americans are in the UK. About 125,000 visas are issued a year in 170 nationalities.