ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp will lead an economic development mission to Israel this weekend, the governor’s office announced Wednesday.
The trip will mark Kemp’s second overseas visit since he began his second term in office in January. He addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the week after his second inauguration ceremony.
The governor will be heading to Israel at a time of heightened tension there. Israel’s military hit sites in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip last month in retaliation for rocket attacks it blamed on the Islamist group Hamas. The back and forth came after police raids on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
Citing security concerns, the governor’s office did not release details of the trip other than that Kemp will meet with Israeli companies that conduct business in Georgia as well as with government officials.
Kemp and the Georgia Department of Economic Development jointly reported last February that the state achieved a record-breaking year for international trade last year for the second consecutive year.
In 2022, Georgia’s total trade exceeded $196 billion across 221 countries and territories. The state surpassed $47 billion in exports last year, breaking the previous record by nearly $5 billion.