US Sen. John Kennedy returns from overseas trip highlighting NATO – The Advocate

U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy has returned from an overseas trip with a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House and Senate.

Kennedy, R-Madisonville, traveled to Belgium, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and France on a trip that focused on NATO and defense spending.

According to a news release, Kennedy also took the opportunity to promote Louisiana economic development opportunities.

Louisiana is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. In addition to being a leader in oil and natural gas production, our state produces high-quality agriculture and manufactured products. As such, during this trip I focused specifically on selling Louisiana and our products to the countries that we visited, Kennedy said in the release.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy said that a recent trip to China and Japan gave him an opportunity to

Kennedy met with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuanian Minister of Defense Raimundas Karoblis, Speaker of the Seimas Viktoras Pranckietis, Estonian Minister of Defense Margus Tsahkna, Republic of Finland President Sauli Niinisto, Finnish Minister of Defense Jussi Niinisto and Finnish Speaker of Parliament Maria Lohela as well as NATO officials during the seven-day trip.

Kennedy, a Madisonville Republican who joined the Senate in January, traveled to Asia earlier this year in a trip that highlighted North Korea's nuclear threats.

Others on the trip to the Baltic States included Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pension Committee; Senate Appropriations Chair Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi; Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri; and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland; and House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Phil Roe, R-Tennessee.

The fight against terrorism is a collective fight," Kennedy said. This was a productive trip as we were able to have serious conversations with presidents and defense ministers about the need to enhance defense spending.

Follow Elizabeth Crisp on Twitter, @elizabethcrisp.

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US Sen. John Kennedy returns from overseas trip highlighting NATO - The Advocate