TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Government officials from the American state of West Virginia attended the official opening Thursday (April 27) of its trade office in Taiwan.

Lieutenant Governor Craig Blair said at the opening that he was happy his state had managed to launch its office earlier than the neighboring state of Virginia. Earlier in the week, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said in Taipei that he had approved plans to open a representative office in Taiwan for his state.

Blair named defense, aerospace, cars, chemicals, metals, and heavy industry as the priority sectors for deeper cooperation between West Virginia and Taiwan, per CNA. While agriculture was not mentioned on the program for the event, Blair said that as he had grown up on an apple farm, he believed the sector would also provide numerous trade opportunities.

During a previous visit to Taiwan in 2018, Blair had already noticed the importance of the defense industry, the report said. At Thursday’s opening, he said the two sides could first form a think tank to organize visits and seek out opportunities. The lieutenant governor emphasized that West Virginia and Taiwan both valued the importance of the defense sector.