The Asia-Pacific is home to half the world's population, more than half the world's GDP and nearly half of its trade. It is home to key allies and emerging powers. It is also home to booming middle classes and growing economic opportunities and is a region experiencing reductions in poverty without parallel in human history.
I recently traveled to the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, where I saw firsthand how, in the words of Secretary Clinton, "It's becoming increasingly clear that in the 21st century, the world's strategic and economic center of gravity will be the Asia-Pacific."
While this region is experiencing many gains, there are also many challenges, including arms proliferation, piracy, trafficking and smuggling, natural disasters and regional tensions between powerful countries. A top priority for our Bureau's engagement with partners… more »
“Prepare in calm to respond in crisis.” This was the motto chosen by Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12) Commodore Jim Morgan as 200 participants gathered in San Diego on January 30 and 31 for the Mid-Planning Conference (MPC) for PP12. All four host nations -- Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia -- sent high-level delegations, as did many of our partner nations, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, and Thailand.
Pacific Partnership, created in response to the terrible tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 2004, will carry out its seventh annual mission from May to September of this year. The program was developed by the U.S. Navy, but has become a demonstrable example of the “whole of government” approach to American policy in the Pacific, including participation by the Department of State, USAID, NOAA, and… more »
Last night, Americans gathered around their television sets -- or computer monitors -- to watch President Barack Obama deliver the State of the Union Address. For the first time, international audiences were able to watch the State of the Union Address live on U.S. embassy and consulate websites. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) streamed the speech with a new video player, placed directly on almost 300 English-language embassy and consulate websites and Facebook pages worldwide.
2011 was a momentous year for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) as the culmination of much hard work that reflects the vision articulated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in an editorial for the November 2011 issue of Foreign Policy. This strategy guided the Bureau's activities from reinvigorating already strong relations with treaty partners, building new partnerships with emerging powers in the region, such as China, engaging with multilateral institutions, expanding trade and investment, forging a broad based military presence, and advancing democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Our long-standing treaty allies continue to serve as the bedrock… more »
May 23: The State Department, through its office of the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), is pleased to announce $1.5 million in funding to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to support open governance and political participation in the Middle East and North Africa. more »
May 23: Today, Russia was invited to join the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) at a ceremony hosted by its parent body, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. ã more »
![Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro is greeted by naval officials during his visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on February 15, 2012 [U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0425_shapiro_m.jpg)
![A Micronesian boy holds onto Project HOPE volunteer, Andrew Siler's hand, while Able Seaman Thomas Pearson of Royal Australian Navy, Lt. Michael Bloir, and Project HOPE volunteer Hanna Taylor puts four sticks in a Micronesian boy's leg at Nanpei medical civic action project site for Pacific Partnership 2011 in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, on July 9, 2011. Pacific Partnership 2011 visited the islands of Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Federated States of Micronesia. [Photo By Kristopher Radder]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0203_pacific_partnership_m.jpg)
