U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Ottawa, Canada, December 19, to meet Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. The leaders will discuss U.S.-Canadian coordination on a range of global and regional topics and renew their commitment to make the U.S.-Canadian border more secure and more efficient.
SECRETARY TILLERSON: It’s my pleasure to welcome Foreign Minister Le Drian from France to the State Department for a working lunch. We’ve had a number of meetings already this year, so I look forward to continuing that discussion. Welcome.
QUESTION: Bonjour, Monsieur Secretary. Secretary Tillerson, have you already submitted a letter of resignation with an effective date in January?
SECRETARY TILLERSON: That’s ridiculous.
QUESTION: Thank you.
SECRETARY TILLERSON: It’s a ridiculous question.
QUESTION: Thanks.
The United States faces a 21st century global environment that presents unconventional threats from non-state actors, as well as challenges to our economic and national security from traditional state actors. Whether the threats are rogue nations seeking nuclear weapons, terrorists plotting to attack our homeland, or malicious cyber actors seeking to damage and destabilize our critical systems and infrastructure, we must remain vigilant against those who would do harm to our people and our way of life. President Trump’s new National Security Strategy brings to bear all elements of American power to protect our people, generate new economic opportunities, and advance our interests and democratic principles. The State Department will work closely with other federal agencies and our allies and partners around the world to implement this strategy.
We congratulate Sebastián Piñera on his election as the next President of Chile. We congratulate the Chilean people for participating in another successful election and demonstrating their commitment to democratic values.
The United States and Chile share a strong partnership based on our commitment to shared democratic ideals, human rights, and economic opportunity. We are confident the United States and Chile will continue to work closely to promote security, prosperity, and good governance within our hemisphere and across the globe. We value the close relationship we have had during President Bachelet’s administration and we look forward to working with President-elect Piñera when the new administration takes office in March.
The United States and Singapore held the tenth annual Counterproliferation Dialogue in Singapore. The dialogue continues to strengthen bilateral cooperation to address the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery, and sensitive dual-use technologies.
Interagency experts from both sides met to discuss a range of counterproliferation and strategic trade control challenges, and to identify avenues to best address those challenges. The 2017 Dialogue placed special emphasis on U.S. and Singapore efforts to promote effective implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions concerning North Korea and opportunities to improve enforcement of strategic trade controls.
For further information, please contact Maria Dudding at ISNPressQueries@State.gov or visit www.state.gov/t/isn, Twitter @StateISN and Facebook @StateDepartment.ISNBureau