Secretary Clinton to Travel to Colombia, Brazil and Belgium

Secretary Clinton to Travel to Colombia, Brazil and Belgium

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 11, 2012

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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, Brazil April 16-17. On April 16, she will lead the U.S. delegation for the third U.S.-Brazil Global Partnership Dialogue. This Dialogue builds upon the agreements the United States and Brazil reached during President Obama’s visit to Brazil in 2011 and President Rousseff’s visit to the United States on April 9-10, 2012. Issues discussed in the Global Partnership Dialogue range from development and education cooperation to global political and economic issues. The Dialogue provides a forum to transform our agreements into concrete action. The Secretary will also meet with government officials and representative of the private sector.

On April 17, the Secretary will provide opening remarks with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at the First Annual High-Level Meeting of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Launched eight months ago by Presidents Obama and Rousseff, OGP will formally welcome 42 new countries into the Partnership as they announce concrete commitments to prevent corruption, promote transparency, and harness new technologies to empower citizens.

Secretary Clinton will visit Brussels, Belgium April 18-19 to participate in a joint meeting of NATO foreign and defense ministers and to hold a bilateral meeting with Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders. At NATO, the Secretary and her foreign and defense minister counterparts will discuss preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit, which the President will host in Chicago May 20-21, 2012. At the joint ministerial meeting, ministers will review the status of NATO’s transition strategy for Afghanistan, new capabilities for the Alliance and NATO’s global partnerships. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta will participate on April 18. On April 19, NATO foreign ministers will meet with their non-NATO partners in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The Secretary will also participate in a foreign ministers’ meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on April 19.

ENDS

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