| Association of United States Representative Abroad  |
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| The Association of United States Representatives Abroad (AURA) is an informal association of US state and county representatives in the UK. It was started approximately six years ago by the Commercial Service at the US Embassy in London and I took over as President in 2002. AURA is primarily made up of the companies or organisations that represent parts of the US in the UK. We currently have 49 members (21 UK based), from 26 states, one US city (Denver, Colorado) and one US county (Fairfax). We also have 86 non-representative contacts, making a total of 135. The different offices provide a range of services, for example, some include tourism, and others don’t. Some are very active in trade missions and others are not. It depends on the priorities and remits set by the states for their work here. We also maintain a large number of contacts from the Council of American States in Europe (CASE), based in Frankfurt-am-Main, so we are not strictly UK limited. AURA continues to work closely with the US Embassy in London. We have good relationships with the government investment bodies, such as UK Trade and Investment, as well as the Regional Development Authorities around the UK, and hold events with representatives to keep our members up-to-date with new initiatives and reiterate the support that is available to us from these agencies and organisations. The members of AURA meet every three months to network and discuss plans. We also swap notes on upcoming trade missions in and out of the UK and UK events designed to promote a sector or an area of the US here in the UK. Although we can be potential competitors for attracting firms to our respective areas, in practice this conflict seldom occurs. We all gain by exchanging ideas and tips on useful contacts, such as good hotels and local transport services. The US Embassy Commercial Service also uses our member notices to distribute useful information from the US Government. If you are thinking of coming to the UK, one port of call should be to check if your city, state or county has an office in the UK or Europe. You will find a list of many of the state/US offices here in the Handbook. They make an excellent first phone call. Mick Ryan is also Director, London Office
of Fairfax County (Virginia) Economic Development Authority
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