State of Nevada (USA)

Cooperation based on the Letter of Intent of 15 July 2015

Area: 286 thousand km2
Population: approx. 3 million
Capital: Carson City 

Nevada is the seventh-biggest state in the USA, located in the western part of the country. The capital of the state is Carson City; the biggest cities are Las Vegas, Henderson and Reno. The name of the state is the abbreviated name of the mountain chain Sierra Nevada, deriving from the Spanish language (“snowy”). The state is divided into 17 counties. Nevada is characterised by a mountainous landscape with a mainly desert and semi-arid climate. More than half of the population lives in the Las Vegas agglomeration. The main source of income is tourism, mainly entertainment oriented. The most famous tourist attractions in the Nevada State are, among others, Death Valley National Park, Great Basin National Park, Hoover Dam and Area 51. Nevada is a leader in extraction of American gold. The Tesla Gigafactory was also built in this state.

Lubelskie Voivodeship cooperates with the Nevada State based on the Letter of Intent signed by two regions in the Ministry of Economy in Warsaw, in July 2015, on the occasion of the first incoming trade mission from the USA. The enormous role in initiating first contacts, as well as in developing cooperation, was played by the honorary consul of the Republic of Poland in Las Vegas, John Petkus.

The main area of interregional cooperation is economy. So far, 2 editions of the programme of acceleration of enterprises (NLAB Lubelskie-Nevada Acceleration Bridge) have been implemented. It is the first acceleration programme in Poland – and even in Europe – conducted with the Nevada Governor’s Office for Economic Development. 20 companies from the Lubelskie Voivodeship were selected and then went to Nevada, where they had a chance to exchange experience and develop their ideas under the eye of mentors from the United States – specialists in the development of start-ups, internationalisation and innovation. Thanks to the programme, a few companies from Lubelskie successively entered the American market and started parallel business activity in Nevada.

Cooperation with Nevada has developed also in other fields, among others, in sport. In February 2020, a boys football team from Lubelskie took part in the International Youth Football Tournament in Las Vegas (472 teams from 18 countries and 30 American states). Participation in the tournament and the stay in Nevada was a very precious experience for the young sportsmen from our region.

 An important and promising element of developing contacts with our American partner is also scientific and research cooperation as well as technology transfer.