NORFOLK, Neb. -- Aaron Bell, a member of parliament in the United Kingdom, has traveled to the U.S. as a tourist but has never been to the heart of America.

“This [Norfolk] is a city that runs on people’s hard graft, people’s desire to work hard and raise a family and so on,” Bell said. “You really feel that sort of sympathy with what I have in my community in Newcastle-under-Lyme.”

Bell was able to make the trip across the pond due to an exchange program set up by the U.S. Congress and the British Parliament.

The program allows for a U.S. congressman to host a member of parliament in their congressional district and Bell said he was paired with Congressman Flood to travel to Nebraska.

Bell spent four days in Washington, D.C. meeting the state department, staff at the Pentagon, and different congressmen.  

Even though they are separated by thousands of miles, Bell sees similarities of issues in the town he represents in parliament.

“It’s a similar issue in my hometown in England,” Bell said. “It’s all about regenerating our town centers and encouraging people to stay in the town center. Because one of the issues we have in small town England is people going off to university elsewhere and they don’t come back.”

Bell added how in Newcastle-upon-Lyme, he has been working with the government to hold regeneration projects similar to projects in Norfolk.

Bell was able to tour the town with representatives from Growing Together Northeast Nebraska, Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce, Norfolk Area Economic Development, and Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau and saw the projects going on to revitalize downtown.

As part of his tour through Nebraska, Bell has met with cattlemen and farmers and said the economy in the state makes him want to strengthen ties with states like Nebraska.

“One of the things I’d like to see is more trade ties between Nebraska and the United Kingdom,” Bell said. “I’ve spoken to Congressman Flood and the governor (Jim Pillen) about that and I’ll be speaking to my trade ministers when I get home. We want to deepen ties with places like Nebraska in the United Kingdom.”

Bell will spend the weekend in Nebraska and have a final stop in Boston to meet the Governor of Massachusetts before flying back to the U.K. on Tuesday.

While Bell has enjoyed his time in his travels across the U.S., he was looking forward to a sporting event on Saturday night.

“I’ve had such a great time here," Bell said. "I’m looking forward, I’m going to go see a Stormchasers game this evening so that will be fun as well. I’m a big baseball fan myself. I’ve had a really great time.”