The United States continues to monitor the situation at the Sharara oil field and echoes the UN Support Mission for Libya’s call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of armed elements in the area, which is crucial to allow oil production for the benefit of all Libyans to resume. We call on all parties to resolve issues through constructive dialogue and peaceful means in the spirit of compromise, rather than through threats of violence.

Libyan oil facilities, production, and revenues belong to the Libyan people. The National Oil Corporation and all sovereign state institutions must be allowed to work on behalf of all Libyans, free of threat and intimidation. Libya’s oil resources must remain under the exclusive control of the legitimate National Oil Corporation and the sole oversight of the Government of National Accord, as outlined in UN Security Council Resolutions 2259 (2015), 2278 (2016), and 2362 (2017).

We understand the economic challenges facing many citizens, particularly in the southern region. The United States stands in solidarity with Libyan leaders and urges their continued effort to improve fiscal transparency, strengthen economic institutions, enhance security, and ensure just distribution of the country’s resources, within the framework of the Libyan Political Agreement and the Plan of Action formulated by UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ghassan Salamé.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

The Department is publicly designating Goran Radosavljevic of Serbia under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2018 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Act, due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights. Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States. Radsosavljevic was credibly implicated in the 1999 murder of the Bytyqi brothers, three Albanian-American brothers killed in Serbia after the Kosovo War.

The law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their family members. In addition to the designation of Mr. Radosavljevic, the Department is also publicly designating Mr. Radosavljevic’s spouse, Svetlana Radosavljevic, and his daughter, Ana Radosavljevic.

For more information, please contact DRL-Press@state.gov.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

The below is attributable to Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino:

Secretary Michael R. Pompeo spoke on the phone with newly elected head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Metropolitan Epifaniy today to underscore U.S. support for religious freedom and Ukrainian sovereignty. The Secretary encouraged respect for all Ukrainians’ ability to worship as they choose.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

The United States and Mexico seek to continue modernizing our bilateral engagement to reflect changes in the world and to ensure our citizens directly benefit. We are committed to promoting strong regional economic growth, good jobs, and expanded opportunity for all of our citizens.

This declaration reflects the importance both countries attach to our bilateral relationship. The spirit of cooperation between our countries is strong with institutional, economic, familial, and cultural bonds that link the United States and Mexico and are the foundation of our bilateral relationship.

The United States and Mexico today commit to strengthen and expand our bilateral cooperation to foster development and increase investment in southern Mexico and in Central America to create a zone of prosperity. Both countries recognize the strong links between promoting development and economic growth in southern Mexico and the success of promoting prosperity, good governance, and security in Central America. The United States welcomes the Comprehensive Development Plan launched by the Government of Mexico in concert with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to promote these goals. The United States and Mexico will lead in working with regional and international partners to build a more prosperous and secure Central America to address the underlying causes of migration, and so that citizens of the region can build better lives for themselves and their families at home.

Promoting Prosperity, Good Governance, and Security in Central America: The United States and Mexico will continue government cooperation and coordination to enhance security, governance, and economic prosperity in Central America, complementing the Northern Triangle countries’ Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity. The United States is committing a total of $5.8 billion in support of institutional reforms, development, and economic growth in the Northern Triangle from public and private sources. The United States and Mexico will also work with the U.S. and Mexican private sector and multilateral development banks to promote investment and economic development in the Northern Triangle. We will leverage the resources of U.S. and Mexican international development finance capabilities to better target investments in the region.

Cabinet-level Meeting and High Level Taskforce: The Governments of the United States and Mexico will convoke a cabinet-level meeting in late January 2019 to agree on a strategic framework for our cooperation in Central America to address root causes of migration. The United States and Mexico will establish a high-level taskforce to facilitate design and implementation of cooperation and monitor progress on advancing our common objectives.

Investment in Southern Mexico: The United States and Mexico will strengthen coordination with the private sector and development institutions to expand infrastructure and generate employment opportunities in southern Mexico. The government of Mexico has announced the largest development commitment in decades in southern Mexico to include $25 billion over 5 years. The United States, for its part, through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, is focused on private and public investment in Mexico totaling 4.8 billion, to include committing $2 billion for suitable projects in southern Mexico. The United States will seek to leverage public and private investment in Mexico and is exploring options of further investment in dialogue with the government of Mexico.

Bilateral Business Summit: The United States and Mexico will convoke a business summit in the first quarter of 2019 with participation by a broad range of U.S., Mexican, and international private sector representatives to increase investment and business opportunities in Mexico with a special focus on southern Mexico and the Northern Triangle.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

The United States is the world’s single largest financial supporter of efforts to address humanitarian hazards from landmines and unexploded ordnance in post-conflict countries and to reduce the availability of excess, loosely-secured, or otherwise at-risk weapons and munitions. Today’s release of the 17th edition of To Walk the Earth in Safety, the Department of State’s annual report summarizing the accomplishments of the U.S. Conventional Weapons Destruction Program, highlights our enduring commitment to making post-conflict communities safer and setting the stage for their recovery and development.

• Since 1993, the United States has invested more than $3.2 billion for the securing and safe disposal of excess small arms, light weapons, and munitions as well as the safe clearance of landmines and explosive remnants of war in more than 100 countries, making the United States the world’s single largest financial supporter of conventional weapons destruction.
• The United States has funded programs worldwide aimed at reducing at-risk weapons and munitions and improving stockpile security in order to prevent diversion of arms to terrorists and other destabilizing actors.
• Through the conventional weapons destruction program, the U.S. government has collaborated with partner nations and international organizations since 2003 to destroy more than 39,000 excess or poorly-secured man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), shoulder-fired missiles that pose a serious potential threat to global aviation in the hands of terrorists or insurgents.
• Working in close cooperation with the Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Leahy War Victims Fund, the Department of State has helped numerous countries to declare themselves mine free.
• Proactive community outreach through our Mine Risk Education programs have prevented countless injuries while U.S.-funded Survivor Assistance has provided essential medical and rehabilitation services to people injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance.

For additional information or to request a printed copy of To Walk the Earth in Safety, please contact the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, at pm-cpa@state.gov, and follow us on Twitter @StateDeptPM. The report is also available on the Department of State website at http://www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/rpt/walkearth/index.htm.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.