LINCOLN- Gov. Pete Ricketts and business leaders will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland in August to promote Nebraska businesses on a trade mission that coincides with the Husker football team's season opener in Ireland.

The trade mission will focus on agriculture, insurance, and other major Nebraska industries, Ricketts announced Monday. It also will allow the trip participants to watch the Huskers play Northwestern in person on Aug. 27.

Ricketts, a Republican, has led Nebraska business executives and state administrators on trips to Asia, Europe, Mexico, and Canada during his tenure, with the goal of helping business leaders build relationships abroad and getting foreign companies to invest in Nebraska.

He said the U.K. is a dominant player in Europe's insurance industry, which is also a major employer in Nebraska, and several Nebraska companies have offices in England. Companies based in Ireland and Britain have created about 6,000 jobs in Nebraska, he said, pointing to British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline's office in Lincoln.

"There's a great opportunity for Nebraska companies to go over there and find business opportunities," Ricketts said at a press conference. "We'd love to help open up doors for (business) folks to be able to get into the U.K."

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