Press Releases: Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting With UN Secretary-General Guterres


Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

October 24, 2018


The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:‎

Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met yesterday in Washington with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. They discussed global efforts to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea, the importance of making irreversible progress towards a political resolution in Syria by convening the constitutional committee in November, and a cessation of hostilities in Yemen. The Secretary condemned the outrageous and disruptive behavior the Cuban and Bolivian missions to the United Nations staff exhibited during a U.S.-hosted event on Cuban political prisoners on October 16.






Press Releases: Secretary Pompeo’s Call With UN Special Envoy for Syria


Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

October 22, 2018


The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:

Secretary Michael R. Pompeo spoke with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and discussed the Special Envoy’s progress on convening a constitutional committee. The Secretary thanked de Mistura for his efforts in de-escalating the military conflict and re-invigorating the political peace process. The Secretary also thanked de Mistura for his more than four years of service on behalf of the Syrian people, as well as his many years of UN service around the world.






Press Releases: Building Bridges: A Symposium on Global Cultural Heritage Preservation in Washington, D.C.


Notice to the Press

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

October 22, 2018


The U.S. Department of State, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Member Agencies of the Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee (CHCC) will host Building Bridges: A Symposium on Global Cultural Heritage Preservation on October 23-24, at the Smithsonian Castle located at 1000 Jefferson Dr. SW, Washington, D.C. 20560.

The Symposium will cultivate an open dialogue about cultural heritage preservation and protection among government and non-government organizations, the private sector, and the university and research community. Attendees will explore how the United States can better help protect and preserve culture around the world and the role cultural heritage protection plays in advancing foreign policy.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert and Smithsonian Provost John Davis will deliver opening remarks at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, October 23.

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce, Chair of the CHCC, will lead the closing panel discussion, which is open to the public, A Discussion on Cultural Heritage Preservation and Foreign Policy, on Wednesday, October 24 at 4:00 p.m. Four current and former U.S. ambassadors will describe how they leveraged cultural heritage to advance foreign policy in the Near East, Balkans, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The opening remarks and closing panel discussion are open to the press, with limited space available. Media must RSVP to attend at ECA-Press@state.gov.

The closing panel discussion will be livestreamed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/si-public and a full agenda for the Symposium can be found here: https://www.si.edu/events/building-bridges. Follow the event on social media at #CulturalHeritage and #CHCCBuildingBridges.






Press Releases: Assistant Secretary Nagy Travels to the United Kingdom, France, Togo, Guinea, Mali, and Nigeria


Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

October 22, 2018


Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs Tibor P. Nagy will travel to the United Kingdom, France, Togo, Guinea, Mali, and Nigeria October 29 – November 10.

During his trip, Assistant Secretary Nagy will focus on promoting stronger trade and commercial ties between the United States and Africa, harnessing the potential of Africa’s youth, advancing peace and security through partnerships, and conveying the United States’ unwavering commitment to Africa.

In the United Kingdom and France, the Assistant Secretary will conduct bilateral meetings with his British and French counterparts.

Assistant Secretary Nagy will then travel to Lomé, Togo on November 1 where he will meet with Togolese government officials, and lead a regional U.S. Chiefs of Mission Conference.

In Conakry, Guinea, November 2-4, Assistant Secretary Nagy will conduct bilateral meetings with Guinea government officials, host a business roundtable, and meet with alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

In Bamako, Mali on October 4-7, Assistant Secretary Nagy will hold meetings with Malian government officials, host a trade and entrepreneurship roundtable, and meet with YALI alumni.

The final stop on the trip will be Abuja, Nigeria. Assistant Secretary Nagy will have meetings with government officials, members of the American business community, religious leaders, civil society organizations, youth groups, and he will deliver a speech at Baze University on U.S.-Africa relations.

Follow @AsstSecStateAF on Twitter for trip updates. For press inquiries, please contact AF-Press@state.gov.






Press Releases: Cameroon’s Presidential Election Results


Press Statement

Heather Nauert

Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

October 22, 2018


The United States congratulates the people of Cameroon for largely peaceful elections on October 7. We urge all parties – including the government – to respect the rule of law, resolve peacefully any disputes through established legal channels, and avoid hate speech.

While we welcome the Cameroonian Election Commission’s demonstrable improvement over the 2011 elections, there were a number of irregularities prior to, during, and after the October 7 election. These irregularities may not have affected the outcome but created an impression that the election was not credible or genuinely free and fair. We commend the African Union Election Observation Mission for its preliminary statement, notably that “the current framework needs to be strengthened in order to safeguard the democratic principles of separation of powers, fairness, and independence and impartiality.”

With the conclusion of the presidential election, the United States strongly encourages both sides involved in the conflict affecting the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon to focus on resolving differences through peaceful dialogue and to allow unhindered access to humanitarian aid workers.