Missouri is expanding its connection to the Emerald Isle.
A state Senate bill to improve the relationship between Ireland and Missouri is now moving through the House.
Travis Fitzwater, a Missouri senator representing Callaway County, has been sponsoring the bill since 2024, which was passed by the Missouri House Rules Administrative Committee Monday.
During a Senate hearing in March, Fitzwater said the commission would study ways to improve the business relationship between Missouri and Ireland, including how to further policy issues of mutual interest and how to increase business and academic exchanges between Missouri and Ireland.
"We have a strong relationship with Ireland, and this is a way for us to discuss how that relationship can be expanded," Fitzwater said in the session, which perfected the bill and sent it to the House.
Ireland ranked 18th in 2025 for Missouri export destinations, up from 25th in 2024. Exports also increased 13% in this time. But this isn't the only way Missouri officials are making connections in the country.
Karen Kunkel is the workforce development manager for the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and is in charge of the Chamber Cultural Immersion Travel program. Each year, the chamber chooses a different country to visit, and this year, the program is coincidentally heading to Ireland.
Kunkel said while the program aims to make it easier to travel to countries abroad, it also can help business professionals make connections.
"I would say it's more about relationship building than anything, and that's something that the chamber is well known for. We are a connector," Kunkel said.
She added that the experience is a simplified travel program that allows travelers to experience a new country with immersive opportunities.
""No matter where you all are in the world, people are people, and it's just kind of nice to see different takes on how people interpret things," Kunkel said.
The application period ends June 5, and it is open to interested participants outside of Springfield as well.
Connections between Missouri and Ireland have also seen growth in local infrastructure. Missouri Partnership reported relations with 20 Irish companies in 2025, up from 16 companies in 2020. Some Irish companies include Accenture, Avadels, Johnson Controls and Steris. Eight Missouri companies have locations in Ireland, including Build-a-Bear, Emerson and Enterprise Mobility.
The largest industry group in both imports and exports is pharmaceutical, including medicine in the chemicals sector.
The bill is now up for a third reading and final vote in the full House.
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