Don’t be confused, Gov. Phil Murphy was thrilled that he was able to announce on the final day of his Gulf Arab States mission trip that a United Arab Emirates-based company was committing to a $100 million investment in Edison, one that will create 200 jobs.
And he was excited to discuss the numerous Memoranda of Understanding for higher education, internships and business partnerships that were introduced during the weeklong trip to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.
This economic mission trip, however, was about what could be coming in the future.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged to make $2.1 trillion of investment and trade with the U.S. in the next decade. Murphy is hoping his visit — coming just weeks before a visit from President Donald Trump — will help put New Jersey in position to get some of those investment dollars.
Murphy, speaking to BINJE from Dubai on the final day of the trip, said this potential is what made this trip different from the 12 previous economic mission trips he has made.
“There were some job announcements and really good higher ed memoranda, but, because of the overwhelming wealth in this region, there was a lot of capital and investment discussions in things like artificial intelligence, infrastructure, life sciences, some of the areas that are in our strategic innovation centers,” he said.
“There were a lot of discussions in that lane, which would make this mission unique relative to others. We’re really excited about it.”
The fact that Trump is scheduled to visit just days from now is a huge added bonus, Murphy said.
“Our timing is really good,” he said. “I can’t say that we planned it that way, because we planned this long before the president’s trip, but with all these folks pledging to invest, we couldn’t have planned it any better.”
Murphy, who previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany, was certainly in his element.
He knows the importance of protocol and face-to-face meetings. It’s one of the ways he responded to those criticizing why he made the trip so close to the end of his administration.
“There’s an enormous premium place on personal respect, not just on this Gulf trip, but certainly on this trip,” he said. “This has been time spent that’s well worth it.”
Murphy gave just one example.
“We had lunch today with somebody who’s pledged $20 billion into the U.S.” he said. “To have New Jersey here, right around the president’s visit, is fine by me, because, God willing, we’ll be top of mind on some of this.
“So, we’re very excited. We’re clearly benefiting from the president’s pending trip here.”
