“These trade missions will be for my job, and they’re essential for doing the job of governor.”

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO

http://rochesterdemocrat.ny.newsmemory.com/

By Jon Campbell

Albany Bureau

ALBANY — Gov. An­drew Cuomo’s recent in­terest in international travel will continue into his second term if he’s re­elected in November.

Cuomo on Tuesday an­nounced he intends to em­bark on “trade missions” in the coming years to var­ious foreign countries, in­cluding China, Mexico, It­aly, Israel and Canada. Those trips would follow the Democratic gover­nor’s recent visits to Isra­el and Afghanistan, which came after he displayed a reluctance to even cross state lines during his first three-plus years in office.

While Cuomo an­nounced his travel plans Tuesday, they’re based on an unspoken assumption: that he’ll win re-election in November. Cuomo faces a challenge from Westchester County Ex­ecutive Rob Astorino, a Republican who lags be­hind Cuomo in both pub­lic- opinion polls and cam­paign fundraising.

“Today is about open­ing new markets to the state, and we will aggres­sively market the state and share with the global business community that there is no better place, with no better tools and resources, than the Em­pire State to grow and compete,” Cuomo said in a statement.

A spokesman for Cuo­mo said the trips would be considered “official busi­ness.” But it wasn’t imme­diately clear who would cover the costs.

Cuomo made the an­nouncement at a confer­ence his administration hosted Tuesday in Man­hattan on marketing the state internationally and attracting foreign inves­tors. He also announced his plan for a $35 million fund for businesses look­ing to export their prod­ucts overseas, which would have to be ap­proved in next year’s bud­get.

The governor has sig­nificantly boosted his in­terest in foreign affairs in recent weeks after rarely leaving the state during much of his first term. It comes while he’s in the midst of his re-election bid and with the next presidential election two years away. In August, Cuomo trav­eled to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to support Is­rael in its battle with Ha­mas. Late last month, Cuo­mo made a surprise trip to Germany and Afghani­stan with two other gover­nors to visit troops.

Asked by reporters about his interest in inter­national travel, Cuomo said he wanted to send a message early in his term by staying within the state while avoiding chatter about any future political aspirations. Cuomo is fre­quently mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, but he has little experience in interna­tional relations.

Cuomo said the travel has become an “essential” part of his job.

“I went to Israel for my job. I went to Afghanistan for my job,” Cuomo said. “These trade missions will be for my job, and they’re essential for doing the job of governor. Not because — well, interna­tional travel, I don’t know that you could come up with any political theory. I’m sure somebody will, but it’s for my job.”

Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for Astori­no’s campaign, said Cuo­mo should focus more on traveling the state. “We know Governor Cuomo feels more comfortable jet setting around the globe than he does being out in public with average New Yorkers, but he should really focus on vis­iting each of the state’s 62 counties first, as County Executive Astorino has done,” Proud said.