Gov. Edwards Heads To Israel For Weeklong Trip

Governor John Bel Edwards is embarking on a week-long economic development mission to Israel today, taking with him a 24-person delegation. Edwards also has meetings lined up with some of the nation’s top dignitaries.

Edwards serves as co-chairman of the National Governor’s Association’s Resource Center for State Cybersecurity. He says Israel is a world leader in the field and says cybersecurity is very important to the state.

"We have the cyber innovation center in Bossier. We have Barksdale Air Force Base.  We have the need to make sure that our government computers are safe and protect data from people, but also, the private sector," said the Governor.

Edwards says he’s looking to also discuss getting Israeli companies to work with Louisiana companies when exploring for oil in the Mediterranean. But he says the topics of discussion don’t stop there.

"We're also going to talk about water management.  We are going to bring individuals from the water institute in Baton Rouge. We're also going to bring folks from Higher Education. We're going to talk logistics because the Port of New Orleans does a lot of business with an Israeli shipping company and so forth," said Edwards.

The governor returns November 2nd.