Gov. Sarah Sanders said Thursday (July 31) she would make an overseas trade mission to Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Sunday, August 3rd to Saturday, August 9th.
The governor’s trade mission will include cultural visits, with a trip to the Western Wall and Judea and Samaria, as well as meetings with senior Israeli government officials.
Sanders will host roundtables with Israeli companies focused on agritech and defense, and meet with several companies that already have investments in Arkansas.
During her visit to the UAE, the Governor will meet with companies and place a special focus on developing Arkansas’ largest export industry, aerospace and defense.
“Next week I will have a chance to visit Israel, a country that I have long traveled to with my family and where my dad now serves as U.S. Ambassador, to meet with government officials and business leaders and deepen Arkansas’ economic ties,” she said. “Israel is a hub for innovation, especially in agriculture and manufacturing, and as my dad likes to say, is the one place in the world you visit for the first time and it feels like coming home. After Israel, we will meet with top government and business leaders in the UAE, a global leader in technology, to continue our effort to bring more foreign investment and jobs to Arkansas.”
The governor traveled to Paris and Switzerland earlier this summer to attend the Paris Air Show and meet with companies that have major investments or are considering investments in Arkansas. That visit has already created jobs and investment in the Natural State, including the recent L3Harris half-billion-dollar investment in Camden to construct large solid rocket motors.