From cultural connection to global opportunity: How the Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange is building trade, investment and international relationships
Louisiana is taking its cultural heritage to the next level with the launch of the Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange (LGLE), a new international initiative designed to transform the state’s deep cultural connections with Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America into concrete opportunities for trade, investment, education, and economic development.
In this interview with The Energy Republic, Lady Fontenette Brown, Chief Cultural Ambassador, Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange, discusses the vision behind the initiative, as well as the importance of Louisiana-Africa relations and the cultural, commercial, and economic opportunities in the LGLE. Excerpts:
TER: Please tell us about your background and what you do at Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange (LGLE).
Brown: I am an elected Councilwoman in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, representing the City of Jeanerette, historically known as Sugar City because of its longstanding sugarcane industry.
Professionally, my background spans public service, international event production, cultural affairs, and relationship development.
Since 2008, I have worked in international and corporate event production, bringing together leaders, organizations, businesses, and audiences around major programs and events.
I have also served in statewide leadership, including as President of the Louisiana Police Jury Association Black Caucus from 2024 to 2026.
My connection to international trade began long before my own professional career. My parents operated A & L International, a New Orleans-based export company that conducted business in Nigeria in the 1980s, and they were also involved in U.S.-Nigeria agricultural relations.
I have personally traveled to the African continent since 2013.
Today, I serve as the 2026 Chief Cultural Ambassador for the Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange. My role brings together those different parts of my experience – public leadership, international engagement, event production, culture, and relationship building – to help create meaningful connections between Louisiana and our international counterparts.
For me, LGLE is a natural continuation of that journey: taking relationships and cultural connection and creating a structure where they can lead to serious conversations and economic opportunity.
TER: What is the structure and vision behind LGLE, and will it become an annual event?
Brown: Yes. LGLE Paris 2026 is the inaugural Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange. Our vision is to advance cultural connection into global opportunity through leadership.
What distinguishes LGLE is the leadership structure behind it.
The Exchange is led by three 2026 Chief Ambassadors. Senator Edward J. “Ed” Price serves as Chief Regional Ambassador, bringing Louisiana’s regional priorities and assets into the Exchange.
I serve as Chief Cultural Ambassador, leading the cultural diplomacy and relationship-building that creates the foundation for engagement. Ryan K. Haynie serves as Chief Business Ambassador, helping connect business and institutional interests with relevant Louisiana counterparts.
Additional Louisiana elected officials are participating in Paris, representing the priorities, industries, and opportunities of their respective districts and communities.
LGLE is also designed as a dual exchange. Louisiana is introducing international participants to our capabilities and opportunities, while our international counterparts are introducing Louisiana to their markets, priorities, projects, and opportunities. The exchange of information, relationships, and opportunity should move in both directions.
We are intentionally keeping the format smaller and more curated than a traditional conference so substantive conversations can actually take place.
Our long-term vision is for LGLE to alternate between Paris, Louisiana, and the African continent. Paris provides an international meeting point. Louisiana allows our counterparts to experience our regions and assets firsthand. And taking the Exchange to the African continent gives Louisiana leaders and businesses the same opportunity to understand markets and opportunities on the ground.
The goal is continuity – not simply an event that ends when everyone leaves the room.
TER: How important is the LGLE in strengthening relationships between Louisiana, Africa, and other international partners?
Brown: It is extremely important because relationships usually come before transactions.
Louisiana already shares deep historical and cultural connections with Africa and the wider diaspora. LGLE recognizes that history, but we are asking a forward-looking question: What can we build together now?
During my tenure as President of the Louisiana Police Jury Association Black Caucus, we established a leadership MOU with Liberia. That experience reinforced for me that meaningful international relationships do not always have to begin at the federal level. State, regional, and local leaders can play an important role as well.
LGLE expands that engagement by bringing public leadership together with businesses, diplomats, universities, industry organizations, economic development entities, and institutions.
Current international participation includes Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, alongside Ecuador in South America and Martinique in the Caribbean.
Culture can provide the introduction and a foundation of familiarity. From there, the relationship has to stand on mutual interests, capability, and a willingness from both sides to continue the work.
That is what we are trying to strengthen.
TER: How will participants benefit from LGLE 2026?
Brown: LGLE has different participation pathways, and the level of engagement is intentionally structured around each one. For our curated Business & Investment participants, the benefit is access, context, and intentional introductions. We want to understand why a company is coming, what it is seeking, and what kind of counterpart would actually be relevant before Paris.
The program includes international delegation presentations, Louisiana sector presentations, an Opportunity Table, and facilitated introductions.
An international business may be seeking a Louisiana port, university, manufacturer, technical partner, industry organization, investment contact, or government relationship. A Louisiana participant may be exploring a new market, distributor, project, investor, institution, or government counterpart abroad.
The objective is not to collect business cards.
A participant should leave with a better understanding of where their interests align, who is relevant to that objective, and whether there is a reason for a second conversation.
That is the difference between networking and a working exchange.
TER: What makes Louisiana an attractive partner for African governments, businesses, investors, and industry leaders?
Brown: Louisiana has a combination of assets that makes us particularly interesting internationally.
We sit at the intersection of the Mississippi River and the Gulf, with ports and transportation infrastructure connecting the heart of the United States to global markets. We have generations of expertise in energy, petrochemicals, chemicals, maritime operations, manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, and industrial development, along with strong universities, healthcare institutions, and specialized workforce capabilities.
But Louisiana also has something infrastructure alone cannot create: an authentic cultural connection with Africa and the wider African Diaspora.
That cultural familiarity does not replace the business case. It gives us a meaningful place from which to begin the conversation.
I often describe Louisiana as having culture and capacity.
We can build relationships around shared history and identity, but we can also sit across the table and have serious conversations about trade, industry, technology, education, investment, infrastructure, and economic development.
That combination makes Louisiana distinctive.
TER: Which specific opportunities exist for Louisiana and African partners to collaborate in the energy sector?
Brown: Energy is one of the clearest areas of alignment. Louisiana has generations of experience in oil and gas, offshore operations, LNG, petrochemicals, engineering, fabrication, maritime services, industrial construction, workforce development, safety, and energy infrastructure.
Across Africa, countries are developing natural gas resources, expanding electricity access, strengthening infrastructure, increasing industrial capacity, and exploring both conventional and emerging energy technologies.
That creates potential areas of cooperation in LNG and natural gas development, offshore and maritime services, engineering, fabrication, technical training, infrastructure, digital energy solutions, emissions management, renewables, and project development.
But one point is particularly important to me: we are not approaching Africa as one market.
Every country has different resources, regulations, priorities, and development goals. The Exchange allows participating countries to speak directly about what exists in their markets, what they need, and what they are seeking.
Louisiana can then listen and determine where our expertise and capabilities may be relevant.
TER: Are there specific investments, trade relationships, partnerships, or initiatives that will be showcased at LGLE 2026, and what major industries are driving Louisiana’s growth opportunities?
Brown: Several important relationships and opportunities are developing around the Exchange, and we are looking forward to sharing more in Paris.
What I can say is that LGLE is taking place at an extraordinary moment for Louisiana. Our state is attracting major investment across both our traditional industries and the industries that will shape the next generation of our economy.
That momentum creates a strong backdrop for the Exchange. We are bringing together international delegations, business leaders, institutions, and Louisiana decision-makers around areas where there is real potential for trade, investment, technical exchange, and long-term cooperation.
The Louisiana Chemical Association will join LGLE as an Institutional Partner, bringing the perspective of one of Louisiana’s most important industrial sectors into the Exchange and adding meaningful industry representation to those conversations.
Our major areas of opportunity span energy and chemicals, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, ports and maritime, agriculture, digital infrastructure, aviation, logistics, healthcare, education, tourism, and the creative economy.
Paris is where we want those interests to begin connecting in a more intentional way. Some relationships are already developing, while others may emerge because the right people, institutions, and opportunities are finally in the same room.
We will save a few of the Exchange developments for Paris, but I can say this: Louisiana has a powerful story to tell, and the table is being set very intentionally.
TER: What should an African investor, business leader, or government official understand about Louisiana?
Brown: I would want them to understand that this is a significant moment for Louisiana.
Louisiana has always been an energy, industrial, agricultural, maritime, and cultural powerhouse. Today, we are seeing extraordinary investment not only in those longstanding industries, but also in sectors that will shape the next generation of our economy.
Just last week, SpaceX announced a $100 billion investment in Vermilion Parish to build its largest launch facility, positioning Louisiana as a major global center for next-generation aerospace. In North Louisiana, Meta has committed more than $50 billion to its Richland Parish data center project, placing our state directly in the growing artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure economy.
In my own region, First Solar invested $1.1 billion in Iberia Parish in advanced solar manufacturing at Acadiana Regional Airport. It is the largest capital investment in Iberia Parish’s history. Iberia Parish President M. Larry Richard, who is participating in LGLE Paris 2026, brings firsthand knowledge of what investments of that scale mean for a region and the opportunities that can develop around them.
Our international trade infrastructure is advancing as well. The Port of New Orleans recently received the federal permit authorizing construction of the Louisiana International Terminal, strengthening Louisiana’s ability to connect American industry with markets around the world.
Agriculture remains equally important. Louisiana recently welcomed plans for an up to $450 million phosphate fertilizer production facility in Waggaman, connecting manufacturing, agriculture, the Mississippi River system, and the domestic food supply chain.
We are also seeing Louisiana’s position in international value chains in real time. Discussions are underway to revive a trade relationship connecting Jamaica, Louisiana, and Ghana, where Jamaican bauxite would be refined at the Gramercy facility before being shipped to Ghana for aluminum production. The proposed revival could initially generate approximately $60 million in business.
That example is especially relevant because it demonstrates that Louisiana does not have to be only the beginning or the end of a transaction. We can be the manufacturing, processing, logistics, or technical link connecting international markets.
And we should never underestimate culture and tourism as an industry. In 2025, Louisiana welcomed approximately 45 million visitors who generated $19.5 billion in visitor spending, while tourism supported more than 225,000 jobs statewide.
Our music, cuisine, festivals, history, hospitality, and cultural traditions are not simply part of our identity – they generate significant economic activity.
So when I speak to an African investor, business leader, or government official, I want them to understand that there are multiple ways to engage Louisiana.
Louisiana can be a trade partner, manufacturing partner, logistics partner, technical partner, investment destination, and gateway into the United States.
The opportunity may involve investment, trade, joint ventures, technical cooperation, education, research, logistics, manufacturing, or market access.
The important thing is identifying where there is genuine alignment and bringing the appropriate counterparts together.
That is where a conversation can begin to become a real opportunity.
TER: How can LGLE help businesses access markets and investment opportunities in Louisiana’s major industries?
Brown: LGLE helps by making access more intentional.
A business may know it wants to enter Louisiana, expand into a particular sector, identify a partner, or explore an investment, but that does not always mean it knows where to begin.
Our role is to help narrow that path.
If a company tells us it is interested in maritime activity, for example, we need to understand what that actually means. Is it seeking port access, vessel construction, fabrication, logistics, engineering, offshore services, workforce training, or investment? Those needs require very different relationships.
The same principle applies across energy, agriculture, manufacturing, aviation, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and other sectors.
Once we understand the objective, we can help identify the region and the business, institution, industry organization, or decision-maker most relevant to that opportunity.
And because LGLE is a dual exchange, this works in both directions. Louisiana companies and institutions should also come away with a better understanding of what participating international markets are developing, where there may be demand for Louisiana expertise, and who they need to know abroad.
We are not promising that every introduction becomes a transaction.
What we can do is make the first conversation more informed and more relevant, then provide a structure for serious relationships to continue through technical meetings, site visits, proposals, partnerships, trade discussions, investment conversations, and institutional cooperation.
The Exchange opens the door. The real work is what happens after the introduction.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange | www.LouisianaGLE.com
