LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis met with UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly and business owners in London – marking the end of a fast-paced tour of four countries as part of an international trade mission.
DeSantis polished his foreign policy skills in Tokyo, Seoul, Jerusalem and London in an official effort to boost foreign investment in Florida. But the governor’s tour is widely seen as a precursor to an upcoming announcement that he will seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
During a private roundtable discussion with Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch, DeSantis spoke to more than 50 business leaders at Lloyd’s of London. The event was hosted by the chair of the insurance market, Bruce Carnegie-Brown.
In a news release, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said Cleverly and DeSantis sat down “to discuss the close and important relationship between the UK and Florida.”
“The meeting was an opportunity to strengthen ties with the U.S. state and support bilateral economic cooperation that is already worth more than £5 billion a year,” the spokesperson added.
Carnegie-Brown praised recent reforms that aimed to “build resilience into Florida’s communities to ensure a sustainable future for the Florida insurance market” – which has been under intense pressure from years of insurer insolvencies.
Duncan Edwards, an executive at the transatlantic trade association BritishAmerican Business said DeSantis’s visit “allows us to discuss new opportunities to grow our economic relationship across a number of sectors including finance, healthcare, technology defense and tourism.”
