WASHINGTON—Governors from nearly 48 states, territories and commonwealths gathered here today for the Opening Plenary session of the 2007 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting. The session introduced a primary theme of the meeting: how states can compete more effectively in the global economy by promoting innovation.

The Opening Plenary Session reflects the theme of NGA Chair Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano's Innovation America initiative, which focuses on improving science, technology, engineering and math education; enabling the post-secondary education system to support state's high growth industries; and encourage business innovation through supportive state policies. This national initiative is designed to spur governors to enact real, tangible statewide solutions to enhance the economic capacity of states—and the nation.

Governors gathered with business and academic leaders for Saturday's opening plenary session at the JW Marriott Hotel. The plenary began with remarks by John T. Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. (presentation) and Robert E. Rubin, former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and director and chairman of the Executive Committee of Citigroup, Inc. Chambers outlined how Cisco makes decisions in the new global marketplace and what states can do to prepare their workforces for the 21^st Century, while Rubin focused on the macro-economic impacts of current international trade imbalance and its potential risks to economic growth and rising real wages and real income.

"I know my fellow governors and their partners from state government and the private sector learned a great deal from the insightful remarks of Mr. Chambers and Mr. Rubin," said Gov. Napolitano. "This session perfectly set the stage for our continued discussion of the importance of innovation."

"Governors are committed to meeting the challenge of an increasingly competitive global economy," said NGA Vice Chair Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. "Today's session provided a clear picture of successful strategies states can consider for enhancing our economic competitiveness."

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Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation's governors and one of Washington, D.C.'s most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 50 states, three territories and two commonwealths. NGA provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing and implementing innovative solutions to public policy challenges through the NGA Center for Best Practices. For more information, visit www.nga.org.