Lawmakers hope Africa trip will boost trade
Richmond and Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, were among 20 members of Congress from both parties who joined Obama last month on the trip, which included stops in Kenya and Ethiopia. The delegation met with government officials, entrepreneurs and coffee bean farmers.
“Anytime you’re invited by the president of the United States on a trip, it’s a positive,” Thompson said. “It’s positive for your state and the people who live in that state. You get a chance to meet decision makers in those countries. You get a chance to see what those states have to offer that our state potentially can take advantage of.”
Thompson said the trip included “a lot of conversation about trading both goods, technology as well as brain power.”
Hattiesburg American
8/8/15
