On May 18-19, 2012, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the EU joined President Barack Obama at Camp David for the annual G8 Summit. The leaders met to address major global economic, political, and security challenges, including energy and climate change, food security and nutrition, Afghanistan's economic transition and transitions taking place across the Middle East and North Africa.
In his remarks at the closing of the Summit, President Obama said, "For the past three years, our nations have worked together and with others first to rescue a global economy from freefall, then to wrestle it back to a path of recovery and growth. Our progress has been tested… more »
Today I was delighted to welcome to the State Department a dozen inspiring civil society advocates from Russia who work tirelessly to protect the human rights and dignity of prisoners, and for the rule of law. We were joined by Deputy Secretary William Burns, formerly our ambassador to Russia, USAID Deputy Administrator Donald K. Steinberg and Assistant Administrator Alexander, as well as Mark Kappelhoff, Chief of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. As we are seeing increasingly in Russia and in many countries across the globe, the United States included, civil society… more »
This weekend marks the 24th annual Global Youth Service Day. In 100 countries, across six continents, young people between the ages of 5 and 25 will participate in their communities, leading grassroots projects in health, education, service, human rights, and the environment. In the past year, young people have played an unprecedented role in transforming their realities -- unseating repressive regimes, championing democracy, and innovating in technology, science, and business.
The United States wants to see the story of youth empowerment told for years to come. That's why, to tap the potential of this remarkable generation, we've built Embassy Youth Councils in nearly 40 countries. Each council convenes a cross-section of local young people on a regular basis to discuss shared challenges -- developing new policies and initiatives that reflect their concerns and ideas.… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Colombia, Brazil, and Belgium from April 13 to April 19. Secretary Clinton will accompany President Obama for the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia from April 13-15. There, the U.S. delegation will meet with democratically-elected heads of state and government from throughout the Hemisphere to strengthen ties, expand partnerships, and continue progress in economic growth, social inclusion, and citizen security.
The Secretary will then travel to Brasilia,… more »
On April 11-12, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted her G-8 counterparts for the G-8 Foreign Ministers Meeting at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. During the opening plenary on April 11, Secretary Clinton said:
"I greatly appreciate this opportunity to discuss in person the many global issues that require joint leadership from the G-8 nations. The events of this past year, even of just this past week, affirm the continued need for comprehensive international cooperation, and the G-8 is an essential forum for that."
Last week marked a significant reaffirmation for international drug control policy as 1,200 delegates, representing 120 countries and over 50 civil society organizations, convened in Vienna, Austria, for the 55th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). I had the honor to serve as part of the U.S. delegation led by Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Brian Nichols, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Over the course of the week, the U.S. delegation played a leading role in the unanimous adoption of 12 resolutions on issues ranging from preventing overdose deaths to addressing specific regional challenges to facilitating alternatives to imprisonment. We held more than 20 bilateral and multilateral meetings with other countries, led a panel… more »
In January, I was privileged to be a part of the team for a joint U.S.-Russian Antarctic Treaty inspection in Antarctica. The Russians had four members on the team: two lawyers, a scientist and an environmental expert, while the United States also had four members on the team. I was the only one with military experience. At its inception, the Antarctic Treaty was, in part, an arms control treaty. In fact, it was the first multilateral arms control treaty that allowed unannounced on-site inspections. It has been a resounding success in that regard, so the main focus of the Treaty now relates to science. This was also… more »
In early January, I had the opportunity to engage with European policy-makers and analysts in Brussels, Vilnius, and Copenhagen. Given President Obama's announcement of the new defense strategy guidelines on January 5, my visit provided an opportune moment to share U.S. perspectives on the state of the transatlantic alliance as well as policy objectives for the coming year. My central message was clear: three years into the Obama Administration, the strategic alignment between the United States and Europe has never been greater. This theme… 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 »
![President Barack Obama along with other world leaders wave during a photo opportunity at the G-8 Summit on May 19, 2012 at Camp David, Maryland. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0522_g8_obam1_m.jpg)
![People walk on a sidewallk in Moscow, Russia, March 10, 2012. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0426_russia_civil_society_m.jpg)
![Youth volunteers clean the streets in Misrata, Libya, June 12, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0420_libya_youth_m.jpg)
![Secretary Clinton boards plane in Beirut, Lebanon, April 26, 2009. [State Department Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_0716_clinton_departs_m.jpg)
![Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses the G8 foreign ministers at the start of a working session at Blair House in Washington, April 11, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0412_g8_ministerial_m.jpg)
![President Barack Obama deliver remarks at Hankuk University in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0326_obama_hankuk_m.jpg)
![Gil Kerlikowske, U.S. Director of the National Drug Control Policy, right; shakes hands with Russian Federation head of anti-drug policy Viktor Ivanov, after a bilateral discussion during the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria, in March 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0319_inl_vienna_m.jpg)
![Flags of NATO members states seen in front of NATO headquarters, Brussels, June 11, 2009. [AP File]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0307_nato_flags_m.jpg)
