Wisconsin has established a sister-state relationship between Wisconsin and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
The agreement marks Wisconsin’s first new sister-state relationship in 36 years, with the BFC region becoming Wisconsin’s seventh sister-state. Wisconsin’s other sister states include Hessen, Germany; Nicaragua; Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China; Taiwan; Chiba, Japan; and Jalisco, Mexico.
The sister-state agreement developed out of a visit by Gov. Evers and WEDC leaders to the BFC region as part of a trade mission to Germany and France in 2025. Wisconsin and the BFC region of France share a number of economic characteristics that make them natural partners. Under the new agreement, the two parties agree to promote friendly contacts and to develop economic exchanges and cooperation within the areas of agriculture and agri-food, specifically the dairy sector; biohealth, biotherapies, and the life sciences; research, innovation, and higher education; water and sanitation technology; clean energy and the energy transition; culture; and education.
In September, Gov. Tony Evers announced that WEDC and the Agence Économique Régionale (AER) of the BFC region approved a similar MOU to promote closer economic and educational relations between the two organizations, creating a framework for the two entities to coordinate, facilitate the exchange of expertise, foster the development of collaborative projects, and assist with the growth and development of companies in their respective territories.
The sister-state agreement is the latest and most consequential step in relations between Wisconsin and the BFC region that first began two years ago when a political and economic delegation from BFC traveled to Wisconsin. The October 2024 visit resulted in an agreement between the BioForward biohealth consortium in Madison and the BFC AER covering innovation, support for early-stage companies, and economic opportunity in biohealth. Last year, Gov. Evers and WEDC leaders visited BFC to see the region’s biotherapies ecosystem as well as its dairy production and processing sector as part of a trade mission to Germany and France.
