TEL AVIV, Israel — Gov. Ron DeSantis is overseas in Israel as he is leading a trade mission he says could create some "historic" deals between the Sunshine State and the Jewish state.

  • Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes to improve Florida's economy
  • He is set to sign trade agreements with Israeli companies, government agencies

He begins a week-long mission from Tel Aviv, with Spectrum News with the governor, reporting on his mission.

When it was founded, Tel Aviv was envisioned as a "Vienna on the Mediterranean," a little more than a hundred years later, it has become that and a lot more.

It has become a global economic power center, home to Fortune 500 companies and hundreds of start-ups.

And that is where the governor comes in.

Kicking off his five-day Israel trade mission Sunday night, DeSantis welcomed the delegation with an opening night reception and promising a productive week ahead.

In the delegation, key players in every facet of Florida's economy, from academia to tourism, even the space industry, were there.

On Monday, the governor is set to sign trade agreements with Israeli companies and government agencies in all three arenas.

DeSantis has already met with the Israeli foreign affairs minister in Tel Aviv.

While in Israel, Spectrum News asked the governor about why he is spending so much time in Tel Aviv over the next three days, before the delegation moves on to Jerusalem.

His answer: This is where the money is.

"Obviously in the campaign, Israel was an issue because we had a contrast in views in that, and so I said, 'Look, that's going to be my first foreign trip.' Now, part of it is because I'm pro-Israel, Floridians are pro-Israel. A lot of it was, I just saw a lot of opportunities here, and I think we'll be able to capitalize on some of those. So, that's what we're doing now," explained the governor.

Also on the agenda for Monday is an outreach event being put on by Visit Florida, the state's tourism promotion agency, which has just had its budget cut by more than $20 million dollars.

By working to encourage more Israelis to visit Florida, the agency's leaders are hoping to prove every dollar spent leads to many more dollars in return.