Representatives from 55 countries toured the Iowa State campus on Aug. 15 as part of the 1995 Foreign Ambassadors Tour.

The tour, sponsored by Iowa Senator Charles Grassley and the Iowa Department of Economic Development Foundation, was an effort to bolster Iowa trade opportunities overseas.

“The tour is basically a trade mission,” said Barbara Grassley, Sen. Grassley’s wife. “The idea is to bring these ambassadors and representatives to Iowa, so they can see what other parts of the country are like, not just what they see in Washington, D.C.”

The group toured the Center for Crops Utilization and the ISU Meat Lab.

“I want to say, in the name of all the ambassadors, how happy we are to be here at this venerable institution, which is very impressive, not only by what it teaches, but also for the number of foreign students who are here,” said Ahmed Maher El Sayed, an ambassador from Egypt.

The tour was centered on industrial and agricultural sites in the state which do international business.

“I think the tour is very useful. It gives us a chance to meet Iowa people, and maybe develop business ties,” said Dunstan Kamana, an ambassador from Zambia. “I liked finding out various utilizations for soil.”

The ambassadors said they were impressed by their tour of ISU facilities.

“I think the tour is very interesting, I was especially impressed by the research that goes on at this university,” said Benjamin Lu, a representative from Taipei.

“Iowa State is known internationally as being on the vanguard of new technology and engineering, ” said Gabor Horvath, deputy chief of mission for Hungary.

After the three hour visit, the ISU tour was wrapped up with a luncheon at the atrium of the Molecular Biology Building.