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Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is planning to lead a three-country African tour to focus on trade relations. The tour, running from July 17 to July 25, will stop at Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to build economic relationships with the city of Houston.
“As the most diverse city in the nation, Houston treasures its international connections and the knowledge and expertise they bring into our community,” Turner said in a city press release. “Nigeria's position as an energy powerhouse aligns perfectly with Houston as the energy capital of the world. We share many synergies, which is why we have corporations like Chevron and Haliburton joining us. This trip demonstrates our dedication to strengthening links between Houston and Africa.”
Mayor Turner has previously taken similar trips to the continent, visiting South Africa in 2016 to promote Houston as a tourism and business hub location. He also attended the World Energy Cities Partnerships’ Annual General Meeting where he made the keynote address, according to International Houston.
During his trip, Turner made the announcement that the city of Houston would be pursuing a collaborative effort with Nigeria to have a direct flight with the city. Turner claimed that because Houston is the country’s second biggest trade partner and holds a very large Nigerian population and community, it made sense to create the connection. The foreign ministers were receptive to this idea, saying Houston would be a priority connection because they were the first to request it, according to People’s Daily Newspaper.
The rest of the three country tour will focus on establishing Houston consulates, growing cultural connections between locations and discovering new ways to grow businesses both in Africa and Houston. Turner said “It makes sense for us to do everything we can to cultivate relationships with these countries and that is what we aim to do,” according to the city press release.