SECRETARY POMPEO: So the first time it was truly an intel effort, in that the South Koreans had made representations about things that North Korea was preparing to do that Kim Jong-un had told them, and we largely went there to validate that those were true so that it would make sense to begin to put in place the conditions for the President’s visit. So that was the primary mission. We achieved that. He gave us a little bit of color on that but not much more. So we set some of the basic outlines, some of the ground rules, and then we began the discussion as well on the administrative elements of it – what would it look like, how long would it last, where would it be, what time frame would make sense. So that was it. It was a limited diplomatic discussion. It was truly aimed at learning and listening, making sure we understood the outlines of what was at least possible.

Today what we’re hoping to do is – there have been discussions between that day to now, and we’ve continued to develop both administratively and sort of begin to put some outlines around the substance of the agenda for the summit between the President and Chairman Un. And today we’re hoping to nail some of those down to say – to put in place a framework for a successful summit between the two presidents.

There’s a second piece, which is we also want to make sure that we’re square about what it isn’t, what our expectations are not. And we are not going to head back down the path that we headed down before. We’re not going to relieve sanctions until such time as we achieved our objectives. We are not going to do this in small increments, where the world is essentially coerced into relieving economic pressure. That won’t lead to the outcome that I know Kim Jong-un wants and I know President Trump is demanding, so we’re hoping to set out that set of conditions that will give them this opportunity to have a historic, big change in the security relationship between North Korea and the United States, which will achieve what the President has tweeted about and talked about: complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.

That’s the mission set. We’re trying to set out the conditions for that today. And this will be a part of that process. This will go on tomorrow. But we think it’s important. We think there’s enough that’s been discussed that it’s important for me to sit with senior North Korean leaders and try and make a big move towards making sure we’re prepared for the summit.

QUESTION: So are you expecting that you will be able to have a time, when – all that kind of stuff? I was just asking prior, before, so it’s —

SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s certainly my objective to do so.

QUESTION: Right. But the President says it’s been set, but then they said it hadn’t been set. So I mean, what, are you 99 percent certain about —

SECRETARY POMPEO: We think we have it figured out. We want to – we’d love to be able to walk away from here prepared to say yep, we now have the senior level, most senior leaders’ commitment to this date and this location. I – we’re going to work towards that.

QUESTION: Well, you don’t have that? Does that – what you’re saying is that you don’t have it yet?

SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s all – it’s —

QUESTION: You’re not –

SECRETARY POMPEO: I know the nuance is difficult.

QUESTION: Well, yeah, yeah.

SECRETARY POMPEO: We think we’re getting really close to having all the parties agreeing to – it’s not just even – a date and time is important —

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY POMPEO: And the location is important. But there are many conditions that play into that. How long is it going to go on? When you say where, like really where? Not just a city or a country, but like really where. So we’re trying to put some more meat on that – on the answer to that.

QUESTION: All right.

QUESTION: Will you be meeting with Kim Jong-un himself, do you expect?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I don’t know. We’re going to meet with the most senior leaders. The last time I traveled I did. We’re prepared to meet with anyone who is speaking on behalf of the North Korean Government and can give us solid answers so we’re prepared.

QUESTION: How important is it that – would it be for them to release the prisoners?

SECRETARY POMPEO: You know —

QUESTION: How significant is —

SECRETARY POMPEO: We have been asking for the release of these detainees for – this administration for 17 months. We’ll talk about it again today. I think it’d be a great gesture if they would choose to do so.

MS NAUERT: All right. Last question.

QUESTION: Can you have a summit if you – if they’re still holding three Americans?

SECRETARY POMPEO: We’re hopeful we don’t have to cross that road.

MS NAUERT: All right. The Secretary has to go.

QUESTION: Do you expect to bring them out?

SECRETARY POMPEO: We’re going to talk. We’re going to talk to them about it again and ask them if they would do the right thing.

MS NAUERT: Okay. Thanks, guys.

QUESTION: Thank you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you.

MS NAUERT: Thank you, sir.

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SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon. Today it is my pleasure and a great honor to welcome the Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray to the State Department. Welcome.

We had a great discussion and we had so because Mexico is one of the United States’ closest partners. Together we are working to build a more secure, prosperous, and democratic hemisphere. We are neighbors, allies, and friends.

The conversation, as I said, was forthright. We talked about a range of issues. In particular, we spoke of four vital areas in which we work with Mexico every day: trade; management of our shared border; security; and the shared regional and global priorities of our two countries.

First, it comes as a surprise to no one that our economic interests are deeply intertwined. Mexico is our second largest export market, third largest trading partner. The importance of modernizing NAFTA cannot be overstated, and we will continue to work towards an agreement with Mexico and with Canada.

Second, we manage a couple-thousand-mile border. Every day more than $1.7 billion in trade crosses that border back and forth, supporting thousands of jobs on both sides of that border. We seek to improve efficiency at our ports of entry to support the legitimate flow of commerce between our two countries.

Third, we work together to enhance our shared security by disrupting transnational criminal organizations. We recognize the demand of – for drugs is principally on the American side of the border, and that this problem is destroying communities and tearing families apart. That is why the President has renewed efforts to prevent and treat addiction here at home and to combat the flow of drugs coming into our country from abroad.

Our security is linked to one another’s. It will take our shared resources and commitment to disrupt criminal groups that illegally traffic drugs, weapons, and human beings. Continued cooperation under the Merida Initiative advances our mutual security objectives. We’ve made some progress through the U.S.-Mexico Strategic Dialogue to disrupt these transnational criminal organizations. We should be proud of that. This will continue to be a priority for the administration.

Fourth, and finally, we work together with Mexico on regional and global challenges. For example, we are working with our partners in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to reduce insecurity and violence, enhance economic opportunity, and fight corruption. These shared efforts address the underlying conditions driving illegal immigration. We also cooperate with Mexico to build regional consensus on the crisis in Venezuela. Thank you for your leadership, Secretary, on this issue in particular. I echo the message of Vice President Pence from earlier today at the OAS meeting: We urge our entire hemisphere to impose strict accountability on the corrupt and brutal Maduro regime.

We are always looking for new ways to deepen our partnership with Mexico. Today, good news: the signing of the U.S.-Mexico Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement further expands our relationship and will benefit the North American and U.S. suppliers in the nuclear energy industry.

Again, Foreign Secretary, I want to thank you for coming here today to discuss the many pressing issues facing our two countries. I’m deeply appreciative of having my first press conference here at the State Department with you. Thank you, Foreign Minister.

FOREIGN SECRETARY VIDEGARAY: Thank you very much, Secretary. Although I’ll be speaking in Spanish in a moment, I just want to say that I am very, very proud and very honored to have this first conversation with you as Secretary of State, because we’ve met before, but not in your role as Secretary of State, so I am very, very, very honored. And we had, as you said, a very productive, very frank first conversation as such. Let me switch to Spanish.

(Via interpreter) Since the beginning of the administration of President Trump, the Mexican Government, the government of President Pena Nieto, has promoted and offered an institutional relationship of mutual benefit and mutual respect. We acknowledge that we share threats, that we have opportunities that we can take advantage of together; and we also need to say we also have some differences, some of which are public and well known, but we cannot allow those differences to define this relationship. We need to be able to work for the interest of two neighboring countries and two neighboring peoples who are brothers so as to overcome our differences. Mexico, Mr. Secretary Pompeo, is a large country, a proud country, proud of its history, enthused about its future, and we are a sovereign state. And as a sovereign state, we offer the United States our friendship, the will to work together on the issues that join us to do good things – good things for the people of the United States and of course for the people of Mexico.

The relationship between Mexico and the United States finds itself at a turning point of the decisions made between our governments in the next few months, even in the next few days. Well, this will determine the relationship between our two countries for the next years and even the next few decades. We find ourselves at that crucial moment in the renegotiation and modernization of NAFTA, a renegotiation that Mexico faces in good faith with constructive spirit, convinced that North America can be the most competitive region in the world, and with the belief that we have huge, concrete opportunities for prosperity and well-paid jobs for all of our inhabitants.

We have shared challenges on the issue of security, and moments ago Secretary Pompeo was mentioning the work we’ve done throughout a new high-level group to fight transnational criminal organizations. We will continue along that path. This is what we have agreed upon on the understanding that the problem does not have to do with supply or demand; the problem is a market at the regional level that needs to be disarticulated so as to be able to fight successfully this phenomenon.

With regards to migration, we face common challenges. Mexico has stopped become – being simply an origin country; we are also becoming a country that receives migrants. We need to continue to think about priority to the fundamental dignity of migrants, whatever their migratory condition. Of course, we will continue to work on the regional issues where we share values and a vision. This is the case with regards to Central America. In particular with the countries of the so-called Northern Triangle – Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras – we will continue to promote development and security. We have agreed upon the fact that in the next few weeks we will have in the city of Washington the second conference that puts together Mexico and the United States as cohosts with the three governments of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and other regional partners that will continue to be part of this effort.

With regards to Venezuela, we share to a very large extent the concern given the situation of systematic disruption of democracy. We will continue to call for a solution arising from Venezuelans themselves who can find a peaceful solution to re-establish democracy in their country. Of course, we will continue to work on different causes at multilateral organizations where we share values and purposes.

I’d like to take advantage of this opportunity to underscore the fact that the Government of Mexico is very pleased with the progress made to achieve the denuclearization of the North Korean Peninsula. We recognize the work of Secretary Pompeo in this regards. This is an issue that affects us all around the world.

Finally, I’d like to thank the Department of State, the Department of Energy, and the entirety of the Trump administration who was part of this for the signature of the Cooperation Agreement for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy. This agreement, which will be presented throughout a newsletter in the next few minutes, will allow us to continue strengthening cooperation, specifically in the area of technological transfers so that Mexico can continue to develop its nuclear energy so that the next governments in Mexico can continue to develop the use of nuclear technology for medical purposes, for example, or for the generation of electricity if that is decided in the future.

Thank you, Secretary, for the signature of this agreement which I believe it is important to highlight; beyond everything we see on the media and the differences we might have, this shows we continue to work together, we continue to address specific issues that are useful for our peoples and creating a better future for our region. I wish you the greatest of success. It is an honor for me to be back at the Department of State and to be here with you at your first message to the media in this hall. Thank you, Secretary Pompeo. We are ready to continue working together.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you very much. This is wonderful. Thank you so much.

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Each year, the Greening Diplomacy Initiative (GDI) Awards recognize innovative leadership within the Department of State in energy and environmental diplomacy. For nearly a decade, GDI activities have helped the Department catalyze energy and environmental policy through showcased action at U.S. embassies and consulates and partnered engagement on sustainability in host nations. The Department is proud to announce this year’s winners.

Embassy Kabul is the 2018 GDI Award winner. Despite facing a constant critical-threat security environment with limited infrastructure, Post remained committed to reducing their environmental footprint. In partnership with DynCorp, the Embassy recycled 364,000 pounds of waste in 2017. Local partners turn the recycled material into items such as plastic furniture, toilet paper, and dishes. This partnership expands private sector-led economic growth and provides employment alternatives to those at risk of radicalization and violent extremist messaging. Post also encouraged the use of reusable water bottles and improved its IT infrastructure to save energy.

Embassy Sarajevo was named the Runner-Up, thanks to its work to establish an array of projects and campaigns to improve post’s environmental footprint, such as a community recycling challenge, “Turn-It Off” campaign, tree planting with a local organization, and raising awareness through a “green section” in the post welcome book.

Other GDI Award winners, chosen by agency-wide employee voting, included Consulate General Cape Town, which prioritized water conservation in 2017. This effort was critical for consulate staff as the city experienced a third consecutive year of record drought. The Consulate was able to reduce their municipal water consumption by 70%. Information Resource Management’s Global Information Technology Program was awarded an honorable mention for their ClassNet Regionalization project. The project leveraged regional server consolidation to reduce the Department’s energy usage by an estimated nine million kilowatt-hours – the amount of energy required to manufacture servers and power them through their life-time.

In honor of this year’s Overseas Cost Containment Initiative’s “Year of the Vehicle,” Embassy Valletta was honored with the Motor Pool Efficiency Award. Embassy Valletta utilized “all of the above” approach in increasing efficiency and “greening” in motor pool operations. Post worked both internally to improve their own motor pool with a fully electric vehicle and solar panel carport, and externally with the public and private sector to encourage car-sharing and electric vehicle charging stations.

For further information, please contact Caroline D’Angelo at DAngeloCC@state.gov or (202) 485-1624, or visit www.state.gov/ecodiplomacy.

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External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan will deliver opening keynote remarks at the 48th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas, co-hosted by the U.S. Department of State and the Council of the Americas, on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, at 1:55 p.m. at the Department of State.

This year’s conference will also feature remarks by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez, Marco Rubio, and Benjamin Sasse, and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Francisco Palmieri. More information on the program can be found here.

Pre-set time for video cameras: 1:00 p.m. from the 23rd Street entrance.
Final access time for journalists and still photographers: 1:30 p.m. from the 23rd Street entrance.

PRESS CONTACTS:

U.S. Department of State Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
Whapress@state.gov
(202) 647-0842

Council of the Americas Adriana La Rotta
alarotta@as-coa.org
(212) 277-8384

U.S. Department of State Office of Press Relations
(202) 647-2492

Media representatives may attend this event upon presentation of one of the following: (1) A U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) a letter from their employer on letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification card (driver’s license or passport). Please allow adequate time to process through security.

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The United States congratulates the people of Tunisia on the country’s first-ever free municipal elections, which took place on Sunday. These elections represented an important step in the consolidation of its democracy. As Tunisia meets the democratic milestones set out in its constitution, the United States continues to support Tunisia’s progress.

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External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.