Gov. Jim Gilmore is ready for some globe-trotting. He’s hitting the road to tout the commonwealth’s strengths in technology and trade.

On June 3, he’ll leave for a 10-day trip to the East Asia nations of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The highlight will be a speech touting Virginia’s emerging technology sector at the 2000 World Congress on Information Technology in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei (Virginia hosted the world congress session in 1998 in Fairfax County). He’ll be with big-time company at the congress, including Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Cisco Systems President and CEO John Chambers. The rest of the trip will be filled with meetings with corporate leaders. Virginia exported $2.2 billion in products to the three countries in 1998, according to state trade officials.

Then in September in Norfolk, Gilmore will play host to Japanese guests at the 25th annual joint meeting of the Southeast United States-Japan Association and the Japan-United States Southeast Association. The focus of that event is showing off the Port of Virginia in Hampton Roads. Southeastern states from Alabama to Virginia belong to the U.S. group, which was formed in 1976.

State trade officials have eyes for other parts of the globe as well. Virginia business leaders in March joined in the kickoff event at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Israel Business Exchange. The new organization — which is being developed by the Israeli embassy’s economic development office — is to help increase business links between high-tech industries in both countries. The group plans to launch a "Virtual IBEX" Web site this month. There are 45 Israeli companies in the mid-Atlantic, including 15 in Virginia, according to embassy officials. The Old Dominion is indeed getting global.