Gov. David Ige and first lady Dawn Amano-Ige traveled to Okinawa and China’s Guangdong Province earlier this month to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Hawai‘i’s sister-state ties with the two locales. Ige planned to promote renewable energy cooperation and to attract new business and investment for Hawai‘i, subjects he began discussing with Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga during Onaga’s visit this past July. Additionally, he planned to encourage educational partnerships and international student exchanges. This was Ige’s first trip to his ancestral homeland. His paternal grandparents immigrated to Hawai‘i from Gaza.
