Ambassador Tina Kaidanow, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, will travel to Germany, Japan, India, and Singapore May 20-June 3, 2018.

In Germany, Ambassador Kaidanow will take part in the annual Chiefs of Mission Conference sponsored by U.S. European Command. Ambassador Kaidanow will update senior diplomats and military officials on steps the Bureau is taking to implement the Administration’s vision of strengthening U.S. allies and partners through improvements to U.S. defense trade regulation and government advocacy to expand opportunities for U.S. industry, drive innovation, and promote American manufacturing jobs.

In Japan, Ambassador Kaidanow will meet with senior officials to discuss a wide range of security and defense trade issues, and will hold a roundtable with representatives from Japanese defense manufacturers. For nearly 60 years, the U.S.-Japan Alliance has been the cornerstone of peace, stability, and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region, and decades of U.S. security cooperation have served to bolster Japan’s self-defense capabilities. Since 2013, Japan has contracted $14.9 billion in government-to-government purchases in U.S. equipment through the Foreign Military Sales system, as well as $14.4 billion in U.S. defense articles to Japan via the Direct Commercial Sales process.

In India, Ambassador Kaidanow will hold talks on defense trade and peacekeeping, which are among two key areas of the rapidly growing U.S.-India partnership as envisioned in the Administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy. U.S.-India bilateral defense trade has risen from near zero to $15 billion since 2008. India is projected to spend billions on military modernization over the next decade, and talks will focus on expanding our security cooperation while furthering opportunities for American industry.

In Singapore, Ambassador Kaidanow will join a delegation of senior U.S. officials led by Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis for the Shangri-La Dialogue, a forum for exchanges among defense and security policy professionals from across the Indo-Pacific region sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Ambassador Kaidanow will also meet with senior civilian and military officials from countries around the globe to discuss regional security, maritime security, and defense trade issues.

For further information, please contact the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at PM-CPA@state.gov and follow @StateDeptPM on Twitter.

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On May 15-17, the United States and the European Commission co-hosted the 2018 Counter Nuclear Smuggling (CNS) Workshop at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The workshop brought together some 70 experts from 22 countries and international organizations to discuss significant real-world CNS challenges, review effective CNS strategies, and refine information-sharing mechanisms that support international coordination. Workshop instructors included experts from the JRC, the U.S. Department of State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Energy, INTERPOL, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Building on global efforts to keep dangerous nuclear and other radioactive materials out of terrorists’ hands, the 2018 workshop highlighted the following elements of an effective CNS strategy: national plans for coordinating government agencies in responding to nuclear smuggling incidents, nuclear forensics and other technical tools used to investigate and prosecute nuclear smuggling, and opportunities for bilateral and multilateral CNS coordination.

The workshop also gave participants an opportunity to put CNS strategies into practice through an interactive exercise, which emphasized that close coordination between law enforcement investigators, technical experts, and prosecutors; technical tools such as nuclear forensics; and national and bilateral information-sharing mechanisms are essential to effective CNS investigations.

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The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:

Secretary Mike Pompeo met with Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok on May 18, in Washington, DC. During the meeting, Secretary Pompeo thanked Foreign Minister Blok for Dutch support in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Mali, and for the Netherlands’ leadership as a member of the UN Security Council.

Secretary Pompeo and the foreign minister also discussed other issues of bilateral and global concern, including developments with North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.

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SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon. I just want to say welcome. We’re thrilled to have you here. It’s good to see you. I look forward to a productive afternoon talking to you.

FOREIGN MINISTER BLOK: Thank you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you. Good to see you.

FOREIGN MINISTER BLOK: It’s a pleasure to be here. As you no doubt know, the Netherlands was the first country to recognize newly independent United States.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, a couple years ago. (Laughter.)

FOREIGN MINISTER BLOK: Well, and I can tell you we never regret it.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, are you confident the North Korea summit’s still happening?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thanks, thanks for coming.

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The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met today with UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Martin Griffiths in Washington, DC. The Secretary thanked the Special Envoy for his dedication to renewed peace talks among all parties to the Yemen conflict. The Secretary committed to supporting the Special Envoy’s efforts and urging international partners to do the same. The Secretary and the Special Envoy agreed on the urgency of de-escalation and dialogue. The Secretary and the Special Envoy expressed hope that all sides can work toward a comprehensive political agreement that brings peace, prosperity, and security to Yemen.

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