Missouri governor announces trade trip to Cuba

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will be leading a trade delegation on a trip to Cuba next week.

The delegation will leave Sunday and return June 1, marking the second time a Missouri trade delegation has traveled to the country since 2015.

Nixon said Cuba could become a significant export market for Missouri's rice growers, and he will meet with U.S. officials to discuss increasing trade with the country.

He also is scheduled to meet with Cuban officials, speak at a business forum and visit a deep-water port.

Cuba will be the fifth country Nixon has visited in 2016.

Southeast Missouri State University president Carlos Vargas-Aburto also will accompany Nixon to Cuba.

The not-for-profit Hawthorne Foundation will pay the travel costs for Nixon and his wife.