A week-long trip to Israel for Gov. Larry Hogan could broaden Maryland’s relationship with the Middle East and with Jewish Marylanders.
The governor signed a Sister State agreement between the state and the Negev region of Israel Monday that could facilitate potential business opportunities brought to the state internationally, according to a news release.
“A sister-state relationship can be either a formal and informal international relationships with either territories [and regions] in a country or a city and a U.S. state, with the intent of facilitating the interaction of citizens from both sides and creating cultural, social, and economic opportunities,” Stella Rouse, university professor and director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship, wrote in an email.
The Negev region is in the Southern part of Israel and covers over half of the country’s land area, according to the Israel Ministry of Tourism.
Hogan signed the agreement after traveling to Tel Aviv on Sept. 20 and participating in a week-long economic development mission.
He met with several Israeli companies and leaders to extend an olive branch to companies potentially in Maryland as a possible market for establishment in the United States, according to a news release.
“This week has given me the opportunity to see first-hand the outsized contribution Israel makes both here and around the world,” Hogan said in the release. “Maryland values the partnerships we have already, and I have no doubt that there will be even greater cooperation and collaboration generated as the direct result of this trade mission, and the execution of this [Memorandum of Understanding] with the Negev.”
While the agreement could bring more revenue to the state, Rouse said this could be a decisive political move to sway voters who may not traditionally support Hogan, who is up for reelection in 2018.
“Personally for Hogan, it is a way to further reach across the aisle … and to show a significant voting bloc that he is looking out for their interests,” Rouse said in an email.
This amicable agreement, the first of this kind between Maryland and the Middle East, could set a tone that would help deescalate tensions between the Middle East and this country.
“It serves as a way for subnational actors (states and regions) to carve out a relationship based on the interests they prioritize — and thus potentially help de-escalate broader tensions in the region of the Middle East,” Rouse said.
