WPTV by Forrest Saunders
June 5, 2019
State officials believed it would still be some time before Floridians knew how much was spent during Governor Ron DeSantis’ overseas trip to Israel, last week.
More than 90 Florida delegates were on the week-long trade mission to the Middle Eastern nation. During that time, the governor signed memorandums of understanding during at least nine signing ceremonies, covering partnerships in tourism, education and business— tech companies in particular.
“We talk about tech— you know all the tech in Israel,” DeSantis said, during a Tuesday news conference. “They need markets for their innovation. I think they’re going to look more and more to Florida as this could be a US outpost.”
Officials with the office of Florida’s CFO said they’re still compiling all of the expenses from the trip and don’t yet have a final amount. They expected a total in coming days.
While likely to be expensive, those who study international business felt the mission trip may end up being well worth the tax dollars.
“Trade missions are a great starting point,” Professor Daekwan Kim said, who studies International Business at Florida State University.
