The City of Savannah has appointed 19 volunteers to a task force aimed at increasing international business.

The committee is modeled after one in North Carolina.

Charlotte has become renowned for attracting international companies recently and Savannah wants in on the game, as well.

The nation's fourth-largest container port and several big global companies already here give the city an edge.

But so does the sputtering US economy, says Brynn Grant of the Savannah Economic Development Authority.

"I think that's why we are seeing such an increase in the number of international projects that we are working," Grant says. "Our most recent and largest announcement of the past few years has been the Mitsubishi Power systems, a Japanese company."

Other big job announcements here recently have come from the UK, Portugal and Canada.

The task force includes local business, political and academic figures, as well as several involved in art.

The Savannah College of Art and Design is a major draw of internationals to Savannah.

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