U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin

Under Secretary Zeya’s Meetings in Kyiv, Ukraine
10/20/2024.


Under Secretary Zeya’s Meetings in Kyiv, Ukraine
10/20/2024 12:01 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 18, 2024.

While in Kyiv, Under Secretary Zeya underscored unwavering U.S. solidarity to Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice Olha Stefanishyna, Minister of Veterans Affairs Natalia Kalmykova, leadership of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Chief Justice of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Oleksiy Sergeyev, and First Deputy Chief of the National Police Maksym Tsutskeridze. She also met with investigative journalists, humanitarian workers, veterans, and internally displaced persons, including youth. Throughout her engagements, she emphasized the United States’ steadfast commitment to helping Ukraine prevail; strengthening its democratic resilience; securing its Euro-Atlantic future; holding Russia accountable for its atrocities and advancing comprehensive justice for the Ukrainian people; and sustaining U.S. humanitarian assistance for the most vulnerable.

In addition, the Under Secretary spoke at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine’s 10th anniversary ceremony, commending Ukraine’s tremendous anti-corruption gains and resolve to build upon them, amid Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.

During her trip, Under Secretary Zeya announced three new initiatives to help the Ukrainian people win the war and win the future:The State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs launched a $5 million grant, in partnership with the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, to increase governmental transparency and accountability by supporting civil society organizations and investigative journalists making essential contributions in the fight against corruption. It will also seek to enhance collaboration between civil society and Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption institutions.
The State Department Office of Global Criminal Justice awarded $2 million to the International Organization for Migration to support reparative justice for Ukrainians. The initiative will help government policy makers and civil society develop domestic reparations mechanisms for direct compensation and support to victims and survivors of Russia’s crimes, laying the groundwork for Ukrainians to unlock justice at the earliest opportunity.
The State Department Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations awarded $2 million to UN Women for a new partnership to advance Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) in Ukraine. With this funding, UN Women will support Ukraine’s institutions to implement the National Action Plan on WPS and advance women’s leadership, ownership, and participation in conflict response and recovery at all levels.

Upon departing Kyiv, Under Secretary Zeya stated, “Today I was profoundly moved to meet dedicated Ukrainian government partners determined to strengthen their nation’s democratic resilience, anti-corruption champions advancing a more prosperous, democratic future, and Ukrainian veterans and non-governmental leaders helping their fellow citizens regain dignity, justice and safety in the face of Russia’s ongoing brutal aggression. Vladimir Putin underestimated the strength and tenacity of Ukraine and its people to resist this naked aggression, and the resolve of the United States, Europe, and international partners to support them. Today Ukraine remains proud, strong, and free, and the United States will continue to do everything in our power to keep it so.”

For further information, please follow @UnderSecStateJ on X and @UnderSecStateJ on LinkedIn.


The United States and Angola Sign Open Skies Agreement
10/21/2024
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The United States and Angola Sign Open Skies Agreement
10/21/2024 10:39 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
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The United States and Angola Sign Open Skies Agreement


Media Note





October 21, 2024



U.S. Ambassador to Angola Tulinabo S. Mushingi and the Republic of Angola Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Angolan Communities Ambassador Domingos Custodio Vieira Lopes signed an Open Skies Air Transport Agreement in Luanda to advance our countries’ bilateral aviation cooperation. The Agreement brings the civil aviation transportation relationship between the United States and Angola to the highest modern standard.


The Agreement with the Republic of Angola expands our strong economic and commercial partnership, promotes people-to-people ties, and creates new opportunities for travelers, shippers, and airlines, promoting tourism and commerce. By concluding this pro-consumer, pro-growth, pro-competition agreement, Angola joins a community of partners committed to maintaining an open and modern air services agreement as well as high standards of aviation safety and security.


The Agreement includes unrestricted capacity and frequency of services for both passenger and all-cargo carriers, open route rights, an open charter regime, self-handling provisions, and open code-sharing opportunities. The Agreement, which has been applied since it was initialed in April 2023, will enter into force following an exchange of diplomatic notes confirming that the necessary internal procedures have been completed.


The new Agreement builds on a framework of U.S. Open Skies agreements with more than 135 other partners that enable U.S. air carriers to operate and expand flight networks beyond U.S. borders and connect the U.S. economy to growing markets.


For further information and press inquiries, please contact the Department of State Economic and Business Affairs Press Office at: EB-Press-Inquiry@state.gov. Information on U.S. aviation policy and Open Skies agreements is available on the Department of State’s website.



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Angola Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Office of the Spokesperson Open Skies Treaties and International Agreements


United States Welcomes New Investment in Rare Earth Element Production for Serra Verde Project in Brazil
10/21/2024

United States Welcomes New Investment in Rare Earth Element Production for Serra Verde Project in Brazil
10/21/2024 10:54 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…United States Welcomes New Investment in Rare Earth Element Production for Serra Verde Project in Brazil
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United States Welcomes New Investment in Rare Earth Element Production for Serra Verde Project in Brazil


Media Note





October 21, 2024



The United States, a member of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), welcomes a new investment in Serra Verde’s rare earth elements project in Brazil by Denham Capital and the Energy and Minerals Group from the United States and Vision Blue Resources from the United Kingdom, which will help support the development of global rare earth supply chains.


This investment is a powerful demonstration of the Minerals Security Partnership’s (MSP) role in establishing sustainable, secure, and diversified supply chains and the role of the Minerals Investment Network for Vital Energy Security and Transition (MINVEST) in supporting strategic MSP projects. As noted by the leadership of Serra Verde, this investment will help enable operational enhancements and long-term expansion for the development of sustainable rare earth element production in Brazil.


This milestone investment supports the sustainable development of critical mineral supply chains most relevant to clean energy technologies, such as for rare earth elements, which are core components of the permanent magnets needed for wind turbines, electric vehicle motors, air conditioners, and other vital applications.


To learn more about the investment, visit: Serra Verde Recognised by the Minerals Security Partnership & Raises US$150m from Existing Investors. For more information on the MSP, go to the Minerals Security Partnership page. To stay up to date, follow Under Secretary Fernandez on X: @State_E, LinkedIn: @State-E, and Facebook: @StateDeptE. For media inquiries, please contact E_Communications@state.gov.



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Brazil Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Energy Office of the Spokesperson


United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine
10/21/2024

United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine
10/21/2024 01:36 PM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine
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United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine


Press Statement





October 21, 2024



The United States is providing another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to our Ukrainian partners as they defend against Russia’s ongoing attacks. This additional assistance, provided under previously exercised Presidential Drawdown Authority from Department of Defense stocks, is valued at $400 million. It includes Munitions for HIMARS; 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition; Mortars; M113 armored vehicle; Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin missiles; AT-4 rockets; Satellite communications support; Ammunition for crew-served weapons; Small arms, grenades, and training equipment; Demolitions equipment and munitions; and Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.


The United States is committed to supporting Ukraine with the equipment it needs to strengthen its position on the battlefield, defend against the Kremlin’s brutal aggression, and secure a just and lasting peace. As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Office of the Spokesperson Political-Military Cooperation The Secretary of State Ukraine


United States and Montenegro Advance Economic Cooperation at First Official Senior-Level Economic Dialogue
10/21/2024

United States and Montenegro Advance Economic Cooperation at First Official Senior-Level Economic Dialogue
10/21/2024 04:48 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…United States and Montenegro Advance Economic Cooperation at First Official Senior-Level Economic Dialogue
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United States and Montenegro Advance Economic Cooperation at First Official Senior-Level Economic Dialogue


Media Note





October 21, 2024



Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez met with Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Nik Gjeloshaj in Washington, D.C., on October 21 for the first in-person U.S.-Montenegro Senior Economic Dialogue together with Minister of Energy Sasa Mujovic, Minister of Public Administration Marash Dukaj, Minister of Maritime Affairs Filip Radulovic, and Minister of Oil, Gas, and Mining Admir Sahmanovic as well as representatives of a range of agencies and ministries.


Both committed to improving the investment environment in Montenegro. They reaffirmed efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Montenegro economic relationship and deliver benefits to the American and Montenegrin people by promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.


The U.S. and Montenegrin governments discussed joint approaches to improving foreign investment screening and commercial law training; energy infrastructure; and trusted vender procurement for technology as well as continued cybersecurity collaboration. They highlighted ongoing bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, from grid modernization to market integration and Just Transition, which will support Montenegro’s sustainable economic development. They also exchanged views about joint cooperation on investment security and addressing non-market policies and practices.


Under Secretary Fernandez and Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Nik Gjeloshaj signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on U.S.-Montenegro strategic economic cooperation. This MOU aims to strengthen collaboration between the United States and Montenegro, expand bilateral trade and investment, and support regional economic initiatives which will benefit U.S. and Montenegrin workers and businesses.


The Montenegrin and U.S. governments underscored the importance of continuing to deepen their economic partnership and support Montenegro on its path to European Union accession. Both committed to enhancing coordination in the areas discussed in the Dialogue and Montenegro submitted its letter of intent to join the Blue Dot Network to ensure the highest environmental, social, and governance standards for infrastructure projects.


To stay up to date, follow Under Secretary Fernandez on X: @State_E, LinkedIn: @State-E, and Facebook: @StateDeptE. For media inquiries, please contact E_Communications@state.gov.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Energy Montenegro Office of the Spokesperson Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment


2024 Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony
10/21/2024

2024 Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony
10/21/2024 09:07 PM EDT


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2024 Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony


Notice to the Press





October 21, 2024



Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell will host a ceremony for the 2024 winners of the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at 1:15 p.m. EST in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State. Deputy Secretary Campbell will be joined by Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez, Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Amy Holman, and Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Sarah Morgenthau to recognize six U.S. companies for work overseas that strengthens local communities and exemplifies American values.


The award ceremony is open for press coverage and will be streamed live on the Department homepage and the Department YouTube channel.


Preset time for video cameras is at 12:30 p.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance Lobby. Final access for writers and still photographers is at 1:00 p.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance Lobby.


Media representatives may attend this award ceremony 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 the requester’s employer on letterhead verifying his/her employment status as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification (driver’s license or passport). Those who do not have a State Department building pass should allow adequate time for security processing at the C Street entrance.


This year commemorates the Award for Corporate Excellence’s 25th year. Established in 1999, ACE recognizes the crucial role U.S. companies play in showcasing high standards of business conduct in a variety of categories. The 2024 ACE categories are Women’s Economic Security, Climate Resilience, and Innovation to Strengthen Communities.


For Women’s Economic Security, the Department is honoring Parker Clay in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Bank of America in India. Parker Clay is a medium-sized American leather goods brand that employs 200 workers at its factory. Over 80% of its employees are women, many of whom are survivors of human trafficking and are earning a paycheck for the first time. Bank of America’s commitment to India goes beyond business. Its social impact initiatives have transformed the lives of over 300,000 women and girls across India, focusing on education, skill development, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, and employment opportunities.


For Climate Resilience, the winners are Rizome, a small company pioneering the use of engineered bamboo in the construction industry from its flagship project in the Philippines, and Newmont Corporation, a global mining company operating in Suriname. Newmont has invested in environmental conservation as well as education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, creating lasting positive impacts — particularly in indigenous communities.


For Innovation to Strengthen Communities, the Department recognizes Koster Keunen, a medium-sized company that created a market for beeswax in seven West African countries. By introducing modern, sustainable techniques, Koster Keunen transformed a previously overlooked by-product of honey production into a new industry. The other winner in this category is Branch of Microsoft Colombia Inc., which over the course of its 32 years in Colombia has partnered with NGOs, universities, companies, big and small, and national and local governments, to expand internet connectivity, build digital skills, and foster economic inclusion for Colombia’s vulnerable and underserved communities.


The U.S. Department of State is committed to working with companies to further responsible business practices worldwide and to recognize their efforts to improve lives at home and abroad. Learn more information about the ACE Award.


For access to images of the award presentations, releasable after the conclusion of the ceremony, contact the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Press Office at EB-Press-Inquiry@state.gov.



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Award for Corporate Excellence Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Colombia Deputy Secretary of State Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Ethiopia India Office of Commercial and Business Affairs Office of the Spokesperson Philippines Suriname Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment


Presidential Elections in Moldova
10/22/2024


Presidential Elections in Moldova
10/22/2024 08:55 PM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

The United States congratulates the Moldovan people for making their voices heard in record numbers in yesterday’s simultaneous presidential election and referendum on EU accession. The Government of Moldova and the Central Election Commission ensured the election was well-managed and competitive despite serious attempts by Russia to undermine the integrity of the process, as noted by the OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission. Facing unprecedented Russian efforts to deny the Moldovan people their right to choose their own future, a majority of Moldovans voted to amend their constitution to advance Moldova’s accession to the EU.

Russia did everything in its power to disrupt the election and referendum to undermine Moldova’s democracy, including through illicit financing and vote buying, disinformation, and malicious cyber activities. As we look ahead to Moldova’s runoff presidential election on November 3, the United States remains concerned Russia will again attempt to prevent Moldovans from exercising their sovereign right to choose their own leaders.

The United States will continue to support Moldova’s efforts to ensure a credible, transparent, and democratic process on November 3. Alongside our Allies and partners, the United States stands with the Moldovan people in their desire for a secure, prosperous, and democratic future.




Deputy Secretary Kurt M. Campbell At the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony
10/22/2024


Deputy Secretary Kurt M. Campbell At the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony
10/22/2024 10:30 PM EDT



Kurt M. Campbell, Deputy Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

MS MORGENTHAU: Good afternoon, everybody. This is a day that we have been waiting for a long time. Welcome to the 25th Annual Ceremony for the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence. I would like to thank everyone for joining us today, both in person in the historic Benjamin Franklin Reception Room and virtually on our livestream from around the globe.

The Award for Corporate Excellence has reached a milestone: 25 years of honoring U.S. companies that create positive impact around the globe. I’m honored to be here with you to recognize six American companies, large and small, for their meaningful contributions to the categories of Innovation to Strengthen Communities, Women’s Economic Security, and Climate Resilience. To our six winning companies, I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude and respect. I think everyone would agree that you exemplify the very best of American values in your overseas operations. (Applause.)

Across the world we are facing complex challenges that governments cannot tackle alone, such as climate change, gender inequality, and digital divides. Now more than ever it is critical that we leverage the strength, determination, and innovation of the U.S. business community to reach our shared goals. Your work inspires us all and proves that through public-private partnership and responsible business practices, no task is too daunting.

And with that, it is my true honor and pleasure to begin the ceremony by welcoming Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Amy Holman. (Applause.)

MS HOLMAN: Thank you very much, Sarah, and thank you all for coming today, and congratulations to awardees. It’s so much fun to be here today, to be welcoming you all. This is the best day in EB’s calendar, and so we’re delighted to have you all here to share in the success of our six American companies who exemplify what we try in the Bureau of Business and Economic Affairs to do every day, is to support our U.S. businesses overseas to do good things and to make us all proud here at home.

So I’m really, really delighted that we’re here celebrating our prosperity, part of our work in the bureau. It’s also my great delight to welcome our Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell. Kurt is amazing. He’s worked all over the government. He’s done DOD, he’s done the White House, he’s been here twice before, and now he’s the deputy secretary. And we’re so thrilled to have him with all of his experience and all of his great thinking on China. So it’s my great pleasure to – and please join me in welcoming the 22nd Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Kurt Campbell. (Applause.)

DEPUTY SECRETARY CAMPBELL: So, guys, this is such – first, to welcome everyone, it’s great to see friends, family, everyone. Welcome to the Ben Franklin Room. This is the nicest place at the State Department. We don’t all live like this, but we occasionally get to come up here for events. So as you’re here, be sure to look out over the venue. It’s a lovely day. These days come infrequently in Washington, so enjoy this.

So this is a true story. A couple of weeks ago – so one of the great things about being the deputy is that you get to step in at the last minute, and so I was meeting this family, and they had told their children how exciting it was they were going to meet the Secretary of State. And so it was the deputy instead, and so one of the daughters was crying hysterically. (Laughter.) So no crying among any of the companies today.

No, I will tell you those who’ve not met these companies – and we’re going to be introduced to them in a moment – I will tell you they are so inspirational. To see the good that they have done globally in so many different arenas is just really heartwarming.

I will also say it’s exciting for me. I was actually here 25 years ago when the secretary then, Albright, launched these awards. I don’t think we would have ever imagined 25 years later the number of companies that we’ve honored, the work that has been done, the remarkable support that these awards have achieved. So I just – I want to say how grateful we are that you’re all here. I’m sorry that it’s not the Secretary. I’ll do my best. It’s not my favorite thing either, like, to just constantly go around disappointing people, but still. (Laughter.) Welcome most warmly to the State Department, okay?

So I want to thank Acting Secretary Holman – I just say “Secretary Holman” when – all this acting stuff. I’m grateful to you, as well as Under Secretary Fernandez, who leads the bureau. Special Representative Morgenthau – thank you, Sarah, for everything – and the entire team at the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. And they drive so much of our outreach to the business community. Their dedication to boosting economic opportunities for U.S. companies overseas, promoting workers’ rights around the world, and creating jobs back home is what we are all about.

To our guests – we have guests from Congress and across the federal government, the diplomatic corps, and the private sector – thank you for joining us today and to render honors to these people who have served with such distinction.

In 1999, Secretary Madeleine Albright established the State Department’s Award for Corporate Excellence. It was a recognition that the private sector is probably the essential partner in so much of our diplomatic work, and we see this now more than ever in technology, in all the arenas in which we work. It underscored that when businesses operate by the highest standards – investing in local communities, upholding labor and environmental rights – that’s good not only for a company’s bottom line but for our partners and for our values and interests.

Over 25 years, ACE has highlighted more than 70 businesses that epitomize what Secretary Albright called then “the genius and generosity of American free enterprise.” As global challenges have evolved over the past quarter century, from the climate crisis to cyber threats, the need for robust public-private cooperation has grown exponentially, and the role of industry in addressing these critical issues, whether that’s spurring the clean energy transition or training workers for the economy of the future – this has become increasingly important.

Today we honor our 2024 cohort, six extraordinary companies across three award categories, that are advancing sustainability, equity, and opportunity in the countries where they are operating. And I will say I’ve met all of them. They are remarkable. You can tell right off the bat that they are making a difference.

Our first award category is Innovation to Strengthen Communities. In West Africa, Koster Keunen, a 172-year-old Connecticut and Netherlands-based company, has trained nearly 30,000 beekeepers to harvest beeswax, a honey byproduct previously overlooked in the local economy that can be manufactured into products from lip balm to candles. I myself am a beekeeper, so I’m excited by this. I just normally get rid of the beeswax. Now I know what to do. Koster Keunen has also bolstered regional food security in concert with beekeeping practices that prioritize biodiversity and conservation, increased bee productions and pollinations rates, raised the agricultural yields of key crops like mangoes and cashews by as much as 30 percent.

In Colombia, Microsoft, in collaboration with local educational institutions, NGOs, and telecom companies, has extended high-speed internet to more than 600,000 people in remote parts of the country. You just have to understand what a difference that has made in people’s lives. Microsoft has also equipped marginalized communities with digital literacy skills, lifting 10,000 people out of poverty and enabling an estimated 31,000 people to find jobs in the tech economy – again, an absolute remarkable achievement.

Our second category is Women’s Economy Security. As outlined last year in the department’s first-ever Strategy for Global Women’s Economic Security, the United States considers the full and equal economic participation of women not only a moral imperative but a strategic one. Women’s economic inclusion promotes stability, development, and harmony in communities. It’s estimated that closing gender gaps in the workforce could add up to $28 trillion to global GDP over a decade. In this collective effort, we’re fortunate to have committed private sector partners that we’re going to recognize today.

In Ethiopia, California leather goods company Parker Clay has for a decade employed a majority-women workforce of local artisans, most of whom are survivors of human trafficking. That’s incredible. In addition to a good job and good pay, Parker Clay has – also offers access to vital services such as on-site day care. This means that its employees can put food on the table and ensure that their children can attend school. And it means that they can become financially secure, able to breathe a bit easier, plan a bit farther, and sleep a bit more soundly.

In India, the Bank of America is working to realize gender parity across its ranks. The company has implemented inclusive recruitment strategies and female mentorship programs, initiatives that have brought their workforce to – from 24 to 35 percent over the past decade – that’s remarkable – amid a nationwide decline in Indian women’s economic participation. You’ve really stood out.

In recent years, Bank of America has also provided over 300,000 women and girls with the education, the health care, and the sanitation infrastructure necessary for entry to and success in the formal economy.

Our third and final category is Climate Resilience. Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the United States has quadrupled climate financing to the developing nations, helping more than half a billion people manage the destabilizing effects of climate change.

In the Philippines, Florida-based Rizome Bamboo produces a more sustainable alternative to traditional carbon-intensive materials like steel and wood. And it’s promoting the construction of environmentally conscious bamboo-based homes globally. In partnership with USAID and local indigenous tribes, Rizome is also helping to plant 1,500-hectare reforestation program that would establish a bamboo industry in Mindanao, an arena in the Philippines that desperately needs jobs.

In Suriname, our final awardee, Colorado’s Newmont Corporation, has introduced highest environmental standards into the country’s goldmining sector. Newmont has significantly reduced the potential for mercury pollution, water contamination, and deforestation by training small-scale miners in more sustainable mining methods. The corporation also instituted an advisory council but with community leaders from the African-descent Pamaka tribe, who advised Newmont on how to best contribute to local development needs, from portable water systems to small business loans.

So you get a sense of what these companies are about. And I want all of you to join in giving a warm round of applause to all of our awardees. (Applause.)

And as I pass it back to Special Representative Morgenthau, I do want to just acknowledge it’s good to be recognized for one day. But the truth is what you’re doing is global on a yearly basis, and we recognize, acknowledge, and thank you for your work, and we hope that it long continues. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Well, I think you’ll all have just seen and witnessed Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell, and he is hardly the B team. Those remarks and your leadership is exemplary. Having seen firsthand and been with him in the field, it is hard to keep up with him. But truly, his public service and commitment for so many years is exemplary, and we are very fortunate to have him at the department. (Applause.)

Deputy Secretary, I understand that you may have to depart a little bit early, so I just wanted to acknowledge and again thank you. As we celebrate the 25th anniversary, we reflect on the incredible journey and achievements of U.S. companies who have been awarded the ACE over the years. Your work around the world continues to inspire us all.

While we could elaborate extensively on the accomplishments of these companies, it is perhaps best to let their work speak for itself. At this time, please turn your attention to the screen for a brief montage that illustrates the truly inspiring stories of our awardees.

(A video is played.) (Applause.)

And now the moment that we’ve all been waiting for. We can begin with the presentations of the 2024 Awards for Corporate Excellence. The first category is Innovation to Strengthen Communities. We are proud to be recognizing two companies whose work has generated tangible positive impact in Colombia and Togo.

Microsoft in Colombia is this year’s first winner, nominated by the U.S. Embassy Bogotá. Microsoft Colombia has harnessed their technological tools and digital capacity to strengthen communities by connecting them to the internet and to the world, helping refine their workers’ skills and generating economic growth. We are delighted to have here today U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Colombia Francisco Palmieri – thank you for being here – who very kindly made a congratulatory video for Microsoft. Please turn your attention to the screen:

MR PALMIERI: (Via video) Secretary Blinken and distinguished guests, it is my distinct honor to congratulate Microsoft Colombia Incorporated for winning the Secretary’s Award for Corporate Excellence in the category of Innovation to Strengthen Communities. This prestigious award is a testament to the remarkable impact that Microsoft has made in driving positive change in communities across Colombia.

Microsoft Colombia has partnered with NGOs, universities, small businesses, and national and local governments to expand internet connectivity, build digital skills, and foster economic inclusion for Colombia’s most vulnerable and underserved communities. Their work helps promote peace, diminish Colombia’s digital divide, and reduce economic and social inequalities.

Thank you, Microsoft, for your commitment to making Colombia and the world a better place. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Chargé Palmieri, for being here with us today.

It is now my honor to present Microsoft Colombia Inc. with the 2024 Secretary of State Award for Innovation to Strengthen Communities. Please join me in welcoming the general manger of Microsoft Colombia, Daniel Verswyvel, to the stage to accept the award and offer remarks. (Applause.)

MR VERSWYVEL: Hello, all. Thank you, Assistant Secretary Holman and Special Representative Morgenthau. Members of the diplomatic services, honored guests, and colleagues, it’s really an immense pride and a deep gratitude that I accept this prestigious Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence on behalf of Microsoft Colombia.

To be recognized for the impact we’re making through our connectivity and skilling programs is a profound honor. This represents not only a milestone for our team, but a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and shared commitment to building a brighter future for all Colombians.

At Microsoft, we believe in a world where technology is a force of good, a tool that can transform lives, fuel economies, and reduce inequalities. Our mission is to empower every person and every organization to achieve more. And it is not only a vision, it is a responsibility as well. And we deeply feel this responsibility in Microsoft Colombia, where the need for connectivity and digital skills is a great pivot to unlocking the potential for so many.

The world we live in is increasingly defined by digital experiences. It shapes the way we work, we learn, we communicate, and live in society. But we know that for too many these opportunities remain a challenge. This is why we are relentless in our commitment to bridging the digital divide, and we recognize that access alone is not enough. It must be coupled with knowledge, with skills, and tools necessary for individuals to truly thrive and better their opportunities. Through initiatives like Airband we brough high-speed internet to some of the most remote and underserved communities in Colombia, giving people the chance to participate in the digital economy, to connect with their supply chains, establish their businesses, access government and healthcare services, and so much more.

Our skilling programs have gone hand in hand, equipping thousands with the capabilities they need to acquire the abilities to secure better jobs and create brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their communities. We have witnessed the power of this transformation. Communities once isolated are now connected. Individuals once without prospects are now building careers and future of their own design. This award is a reminder of what’s possible and when we unite around common purpose. But it’s also a challenge: a challenge to continue and to deepen our commitment to expand the impact and work.

As we stand here today, I want to emphasize that this honor belongs to every person and every organization that we have partnered with, every community that has embraced these opportunities and every organization that shares her vision for an inclusive and equitable future. We know no single organization and no single person has the power to make real widespread change, but together we are providing the technology that hopefully can be a catalyst for a long-lasting transformation.

Thank you for this remarkable recognition, and we – we’re excited also of the road ahead and knowing that the best way to predict the future is really to create it together.

Thank you. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you for those remarks. We would now like to recognize our second winner in the category of Innovation to Strengthen Communities, Koster Keunen, for their work in Togo empowering local beekeepers and farmers and forging the path for millions of dollars to exports for an innovative product. We now have a congratulatory video from U.S. Chargé d’affaires to Togo Ronald E. Hawkins:

MR HAWKINS: (Via video) Hello. My name is Ron Hawkins, and I’m the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Lomé, Togo. It is my great pleasure to extend heartfelt congratulations to Koster Keunen for being honored with the Award for Corporate Excellence and Innovation to Strengthen Communities. To John, Silvan, and the whole team at Koster Keunen, you have empowered tens of thousands of beekeepers throughout West Africa. Thank you for demonstrating the best of American values in Togo. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Chargé Hawkins. Please join me in welcoming the President of Koster Keunen, John Koster, to accept the 2024 Award for Innovation to Strengthen Communities and offer remarks. (Applause.)

MR KOSTER: Yeah, thank you, Acting Assistant Secretary Holman and Special Representative Morgenthau. It is an incredible honor to be here today in Washington, D.C. with my partners and my family accepting the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence. I want to thank the U.S. Ambassador to Togo Elizabeth Fitzsimmons and Deputy Chief Ronald Hawkins who we just saw and the Administrator for the Small Business Administration Isabel Guzman for the nomination and their support. We’re deeply honored by this recognition from the U.S. Department of State, and we extend our sincere thanks to Secretary Blinken and the entire selection committee.

For over 170 years across five generations, Koster Keunen has been a global leader in manufacturing and refining natural waxes and ingredients. Our mission is to create sustainable and innovative solutions that benefit both people and planet, and today we stand before you as a testament to the power of business to drive positive change in the world. Our journey in West Africa began in 2019 where we saw an opportunity in beeswax, a by-product of honey production that was often overlooked and undervalued. Local beekeepers, despite their work and dedication, struggled to access modern techniques and export markets for the wax, limiting their income and potential.

We thought we could make a difference. We launched our sustainability program that we like to call One Hive. It’s an initiative designed to empower beekeepers and transform the beeswax industry in West Africa. Through training, education, and the provision of modern beekeeping equipment like Kenyan Top Bar hives and proper bee suits, we equipped beekeepers with the tools and the training they needed to succeed. We introduced sustainable beekeeping practices, ensuring the long-term health of bee populations and their vital role in our ecosystem, as well as sustainable and reoccurring income for the beekeepers and their villages and communities.

And through a new program we initiated using blockchain technology, this allowed us to trace the beeswax from the hive to the final product, guaranteeing transparency and traceability. By eliminating intermediates and connecting beekeepers directly to global markets, we ensure that beekeepers receive a fair price for their labor, empowering them to reinvest in their families and communities.

The impact has been profound. Over 28,000 beekeepers across eight West African countries have seen their incomes rise and their livelihoods improve. Communities have been strengthened and families have been empowered, and the environment has benefited with forest preserves and biodiversity protected. This award is a tribute to the incredible people of West Africa whose reliance, resilience, and determination inspire us every day. It’s also a testament to the power of collaboration. We’re grateful to our partners on the ground, the U.S. Government for its support, and to our customers around the world who share our commitment to sustainability and community development.

At Koster Keunen, we believe that business can be a force for good. We are proud to be a part of a global movement as working to create a more just and sustainable world. This award strengthens our resolve to continue innovating, to continue empowering and strengthening communities, and to continue making a positive impact in our world.

Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.

MS MORGENTHAU: We now move to our next award category, Women’s Economic Security. Women’s Economic Security is a category that not only reflects our shared commitment to creating an inclusive economy but also demonstrates the immense power that women can have on their communities. Empowering women economically benefits all communities and helps us move towards a more just and equitable world. I say that when women win, we all win.

And I did want to recognize again that this was the 25th anniversary of the ACE Awards which was started by Secretary Madeleine Albright, and we are very honored to have her daughter here with us, Alice Albright, who has been carrying on in her mother’s tradition of service and heads up the Millennial Challenge Corporation which the State Department works with closely.

The first company that we recognize in this category is Bank of America in India. Their commitment to ensuring women are part of the workforce and are given the same skills and opportunities as others is a priority of the bank’s country head, Kaku Nakhate. Please join me in watching a brief congratulatory video from U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti:

AMBASSADOR GARCETTI: (Via video) Greetings from New Delhi. I’m Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to India. And on behalf of the U.S. mission here in India, I want to congratulate Bank of America in India for earning the Secretary’s Award for Corporate Excellence in Women’s Economic Security.

Bank of America in India through its president and India country director Kaku Nakhate, together with all of its employees, is leading the promotion of women as employees and entrepreneurs. As Kaku herself often says, “Gender parity in the workplace is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes businesses more profitable and impactful.”

Through its corporate social responsibility programs, Bank of America in India is also improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and girls throughout this great country. With companies like Bank of America in India and great leaders like Kaku and her team, India is striving to increase the percentage of women in its workforce, working towards its true potential as a global economic power befitting the world’s largest democracy.

Congratulations and thank you. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Ambassador Garcetti. I’d also like to thank our consul general in Mumbai, Michael Hankey, for being here with us today. And it is my privilege to invite president and country head of Bank of America in India, who can just be known as Kaku. So thank you so much for being here.

MS NAKHATE: Thank you. (Applause.)

Good afternoon. Assistant Secretary Amy Holman, Special Representative Sarah Morgenthau, of course all the distinguished guests here, and my dear friends – it’s my great honor to receive this prestigious ACE Award on behalf of Bank of America India, which is currently celebrating 60 years in India. I would like to thank all the secretaries right from State – Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, and of course my dear friend, Consul General Mike Hankey – for recognizing our work in India.

I’d like to thank Brian Moynihan, our CEO, the – and the entire global leadership for their constant support. Brian has always advocated responsible growth at Bank of America. Acting responsibly is one of our core values and guides how we invest in our communities and help them thrive. For Bank of America. India is a priority market. It’s the second largest contributor to our APAC earnings, with over 15 percent share in revenues and more than 23 percent share in profit. This award really belongs to all my teammates across in India.

Over the last decade, we have deployed roughly 2 percent of our profits in India, amounting to $70 million, working with 30 partners supporting education and skills development, jobs and livelihood creation, environmental sustainability, water and sanitation, and arts and culture. Over the years we have transformed the lives of about 6 million individuals, including women and girls, which gives us great satisfaction. The important role that women can play in the world’s GDP development is today recognized wholeheartedly, and you would all agree with me on that.

Today, nearly half of the workforce in the world is women, while India, only 37 are in the workforce. Unfortunately, they only contribute 18 percent of India’s GDP, despite accounting for 48 percent of the overall population. The World Bank estimates that the loss due to gender inequality in the world is around 172 trillion, approximately 1.7 times the global GDP. So in India, if women’s contribution to GDP just increased from 18 to 25 percent by 2030, we would add 1.5 trillion to take our economy to 6.5 trillion, a significant 30 percent gain.

Hence, we decided to apply a gender lens to program models centered around empowering women who we believe will create transgenerational impact in the society. We also focus on adolescent girls, because India accounts for 10 percent of the adolescent population in the world. Lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure has adversely impacted the cohort of girls for years. Our support to partners like Gramalaya, Shelter, MHT, and Vatsalya ensured a toilet in a girl’s home, thus enhancing her esteem within the family. In the same cluster, schools were provided with toilets. The idea was the basic need and retaining girls in school. To date, our partners have built 19,000 toilets.

Our program with Quest Alliance provides STEM and life skills to adolescent students. With UWA, we created smart classrooms and government-run schools, enabling blended learning, using tablets, enhancing STEM learning. We plan to introduce coding in classrooms very soon. Our vocational training programs with partners like Generation and Enable India, who work with individuals with disabilities, help deliver skills to enable employment in sectors like health care services, retail, and technology.

We support even rural programs with PRADAN and development alternatives that create local income generation opportunities for women, often on the back of community-owned renewables and energy micro-grids and irrigation systems. As a result, 50,000 women farmers and entrepreneurs have seen their income rise significantly, by 70 percent, over a two-year period. The intersectionality of our philanthropic programs hits multiple Sustainable Development Goals, providing access to clean energy, water, sanitation, elevating poverty, and improving, of course, the gender equality.

We work closely with CSMVS and MAP museum to help conserve India’s rich cultural heritage. We supported AmCham in creating a DNI committee across American companies to focus on gender diversity, LGBTQ inclusion, and individuals with disabilities.

So on behalf of Bank of America, I once again would like to thank all of you and express our sincere appreciation to the State Department for this ACE Award. This will inspire us further to create more opportunities for women empowerment, which will help to make a difference in the society. And today, I learned genius and generosity is all that we need to work for.

So thank you once again for giving us this award. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Kaku, thank you. The next award in the Women’s Economic Security category goes to Parker Clay, nominated by the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia. Parker Clay truly embodies the spirit of uplifting communities by helping women who were once victims of exploitation to become economically empowered individuals. We now have a congratulatory video from U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga:

AMBASSADOR MASSINGA: (Via video) Good day. As ambassador to Ethiopia, I am honored to congratulate Parker Clay for winning the Award for Corporate Excellence in Women’s Economic Security. I’m proud to see their incredible work being celebrated. Parker Clay’s commitment to ethical business and social impact in Ethiopia is transforming lives and empowering local communities. We nominated Parker Clay for creating sustainable jobs and fostering local craftsmanship, and because Parker Clay is not just building their brand – they’re building a better future for Ethiopia. Parker Clay empowers Ethiopian women, helping them to harness traditional skills and local materials to create world-class products, while combating human trafficking. Parker Clay ensures its workers earn wages that support their families and provide them with the tools to uplift their communities on their own terms. Congratulations again to Brittany, Ian, and the entire Parker Clay team for this well-deserved award.

MS MORGENTHAU: (Applause.) Thank you, Ambassador Massinga. And I am now proud to invite the cofounder and creative director of Parker Clay, Brittany Bentley, to the stage to accept the 2024 award for Women’s Economic Security and offer remarks. (Applause.)

MS BENTLEY: Leading with heart doesn’t just change the outcome; it redirects the course of our world. It’s 2015 and I’m seven months pregnant sitting on a small gray sofa. My husband, Ian, and I are in California, living in a friend’s one-bedroom apartment with our five kids. That’s when I get the news our youngest daughter, Sayla, needs a brain surgery for a rare brain tumor.

My mind races back to just three years earlier. Ian and I sold everything, left California, and moved to Ethiopia on one-way tickets. Adopting two girls, brought us to Ethiopia, but once there, we saw that creating sustainable jobs for women, especially mothers, could strengthen entire communities. What began as a job training program quickly grew into something much bigger: empowering women through trade and launching a startup deeply rooted in the place that became our home.

Suddenly, our daughter was diagnosed with intractable epilepsy, and it felt like that dream was slipping away. We knew we had to leave and move back to the west coast to get her the care she needed – back to sitting on that sofa and hearing the news. As a mom, I’m heartbroken, feeling helpless and desperate as I watched my youngest suffer. How do I carry the weight of that and continue building Parker Clay?

I thought about Marta back in Ethiopia. Struggling with her vision loss, she joined Parker Clay and found not just a job but recognition and care. After receiving her glasses through our team’s support, her world – for the first time, she said, “My world has transformed. I not only see, I feel seen.” And Saleh and Bertukan met at Parker Clay, started a family, and are now thriving with the help of our day care program. Their child is nurtured nearby while they work and save for a better future.

And there are so many more lives in Ethiopia that we can directly impact, yet at the same time, my family in California is counting on me too. I feel so conflicted, but every time I think of the strength and resilience of the mothers there, I’m reminded that I’m far more capable than I was taught.

It’s at that moment that Ian and I make one of the most important decisions of our lives: to go all in on our business, not just as our own venture but for the lives of the women whose stories were too often left untold. We chose purpose over comfort because the impact we were striving for was far greater than our fears.

Now, over a decade later, I stand before you with deep pride. Two of our daughters are here today, the one I was pregnant with – (applause) – and Sayla, who is thriving after three brain surgeries, reminding us that the hardest moments also defined us. (Applause.) That commitment to build a business with heart, driven by impact, was the best decision we ever made. We put people first, and that choice didn’t just change lives, it changed the way we see the world. Imagine what we could all achieve if we led businesses with heart and built them with purpose.

Today, our team of 200 artisans – 80 percent women – shows that compassion and business go hand in hand. As Ethiopia’s largest exporter of finished leather goods and a top-ranking B Corp, Parker Clay sets the standard for quality and impact in ethical manufacturing. Now we’re extending this excellence to other global brands and redefining success, not just by profits but by lives transformed, like Marta’s, Saleh’s, and Bertukan’s.

Through this journey I’ve learned that success isn’t just measured in profits or growth – though, of course, those matter – but also in the lives we impact along the way. For me, this started with my own family and extends across oceans to Ethiopia. Parker Clay isn’t just a business. It’s proof that when we lead with heart, we change the world, one life at a time.

And speaking of leadership, I want to thank Secretary Blinken for this honor and recognition; U.S. Ambassador of Ethiopia Mr. Massinga; Minister of Industry Atu Melaku; Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed; and, of course, our entire community, who have joined forces in creating this impact together. Your faith in us is a continued inspiration. I invite you to join us, because together we have the power to transform lives, one woman at a time. Thank you, or in Ethiopia, we say amesegnalehu. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: That was pretty amazing. I just need to take a quick pause. We are a little – very structured here at the State Department, but your mother is a badass. (Applause.)

We now move to the final category of this year’s Secretary Award for Corporate Excellence, Climate Resilience. Our first award in this category goes to Newmont Corporation, nominated by the U.S. embassy in Suriname. Their community collaboration and use of tools to eliminate mercury pollution sets the standard for responsible mining practices in Suriname. We are grateful to have U.S. Ambassador to Suriname Robert Faucher here with us today. The ambassador very kindly made a congratulatory video for Newmont Corporation, and I invite you to turn to the screen:

AMBASSADOR FAUCHER: (Via video) Good morning. It is my honor to congratulate Newmont Mining for winning one of this year’s Awards for Corporate Excellence. Newmont has operated in Suriname for over a decade, and during that time has been an outstanding example of corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship. Newmont has shown that running a successful company and protecting the environment are mutually reinforcing. Newmont’s work has enriched the lives of countless Surinamese, while ensuring future generations can enjoy Suriname’s natural beauty and biodiversity. Thank you, Newmont, for your leadership and for your commitment to a greener and more prosperous future. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Ambassador Faucher, and this time, please join me in welcoming the senior director of external relations for Newmont Suriname, Shirley Sowma-Sumter, to accept the 2024 ACE Award for Climate Resilience and offer remarks. (Applause.)

MS SOWMA-SUMTER: Good afternoon, everyone. Acting Secretary – Assistant Secretary Amy Holman, Special Representative Sarah Morgenthau, the honorable Ambassador of Suriname to the U.S. Mr. Schalkwijk, and the honorable Ambassador of the U.S. to Suriname Mr. Faucher, distinguished guests, and all who are joining us today, it is with deep gratitude and appreciation that I accept this prestigious ACE Award on behalf of Newmont and our incredible team at Merian, Suriname.

Our workforce at the Merian, Suriname of nearly 1,400 teammates have come together to make an impact, and it’s a privilege to be recognized for our efforts. Since we began operating in Suriname in 2016, we have lived following Newmont’s purpose, which is to create value and to improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. And in alignment with our purpose, we have always recognized the critical needs of the local communities we operate in, particularly when it comes to infrastructure and economic opportunities, challenges that may have grown more urgent in the face of climate change.

Over the years, we have launched numerous initiatives aimed at reducing deforestation, rehabilitating the land, and improving water efficiency. But beyond environmental stewardship, our local programs have delivered tangible and life-changing benefits to these communities. We are deeply committed to enhancing the quality of life for our neighbors. Whether it’s working hand in hand with small and artisanal small-scale miners to mitigate their environmental impact, or supporting and fostering new opportunities for local businesses within our value chain, we believe that sustainable growth starts with partnership and collaboration.

Newmont plays a significant role in supporting and advancing Suriname – Suriname’s green development goals, and we will continue to increase our impact in this area in close collaboration with our stakeholders. This unwavering dedication to our purpose has remained constant over the years, driving socioeconomic development in the communities we are privileged to serve.

I’m grateful for everyone who has helped us along the way, from our dedicated employees and our partner, Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V., the state-owned oil company. And without their unwavering commitment, we would not be here today. I’m especially grateful to Ambassador Robert Faucher for nominating Newmont’s work in Suriname. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

And on behalf of Newmont, a 103-year-old American company with 40,000 employees operating in nine countries, and the team of Newmont in Suriname, we look forward to continuing our partnership with the Government of Suriname and surrounding communities in pursuit of even greater achievements in the future.

For those of you tuned in on the webcast from Suriname, I cannot wait to bring this award back home and celebrate with all of you. Thank you once again for this incredible honor. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you very much. Last but not least, the final award in the category of Climate Resilience goes to Rizome, nominated by U.S. Embassy Manilla. Rizome’s innovative projection of bamboo to provide a more sustainable alternative construction material exemplifies the American private sector’s ingenuity and ability to adapt to the climate crisis. We are delighted to have U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson here with us today. The ambassador very kindly made a congratulatory video for Rizome. Please turn your attention:

AMBASSADOR CARLSON: (Via video) Congratulations to Rizome for winning the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for Climate Resilience. I recently visited Rizome’s impressive facility in Mindanao, where they are combining American innovation and Filipino expertise to turn renewable and fast-growing giant bamboo, the miracle timber, into sustainable building materials that are as strong as steel and tough as concrete. Rizome’s investment promotes green construction while contributing to the U.S.-Philippine economic relationship as partners in prosperity. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Ambassador Carlson. It’s my honor to present Rizome with a 2024 ACE Award for Climate Resilience. Please join me in welcoming founder and chief product officer David Sands to accept this year’s final award and offer remarks. (Applause.)

MR SANDS: Well, thank you, Acting Assistant Secretary Holman, Special Representative Morgenthau, and distinguished guests. It’s an honor to be here representing our entire Rizome team. I especially want to thank Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, whose staff nominated us. Thank you as well, Ambassador Carlson, for visiting our operations in Mindanao.

Thank you to USAID Philippines and their staff, who helped fund one of our first reforestation programs. Thank you to One Tree Planted, who helped support that effort as well. And thank you to Climate Impact Partners, who is funding our current planting program of about 17,000 acres.

Thank you to our investors and our chairman, Fred Murrell, who believed in our vision. Thank you to the entire Rizome team now implementing that vision, especially our CEO Russell Smith, who has shared that vision with me for over a decade and tirelessly implements it. Thank you to our manufacturing teams headed by Chris Ua-o and Ruel Rivalde and our planting teams headed by Eileen Gamo.

I’m joined here today by our CFO Chara Panagopoulos, who has seen us through from the beginning; by our partner Cito Lorenzo, former secretary of agriculture for the Philippines, a tireless advocate for the well-being of the rural communities of the Philippines and for the health of the planet; and by my brother Bill and his wife Julie, who have really supported me through the decades in this adventure with bamboo. And again, to Fred, we basically grew up together, and he’s a former chairman of two Fortune 500 companies and brings that expertise to the work we’re doing.

My work with bamboo started in the 1990s with the creation of Bamboo Living, making homes out of structural bamboo as an alternative to wood to reduce deforestation. As the impact of climate change increased, we looked to bamboo as a solution. We founded Rizome as a climate solution. It seemed so obvious – noninvasive tropical timber bamboos are, after all, the fastest growing woody plants on the planet. If you look at the Guinness Book of Records, they say 35 inches a day. I haven’t seen that yet, but we – at least a foot a day. And then they feed on carbon dioxide. The annual harvest stimulates further growth with bamboo plants, and the plants can live for a century or more.

But nobody was doing what, to me, was so obviously needed to be done. So we started Rizome to do the obvious. Where I grew up in Florida, I played in a bamboo plant that is well over 120 years old. It was growing at Chairman Fred’s family home, and his mother played in that same clump as a child.

So what are we doing at Rizome? By reforesting land that was deforested decades ago, we are creating an engine for the rapid removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, 10 times faster than trees. We’re creating an engine that can scale quickly to gigaton levels of impact. We’re one of the top solutions, according to climate – the Carbon Removal XPRIZE, and they did not include avoided emissions, which is half of our impact.

We use only land that is not being used for agriculture to avoid impacting food security. With the help of Cito and others who are using regenerative agriculture techniques, we are doing that without the need for commercial fertilizers and pesticides.

The wonderful thing we are finding as we implement our strategy is the broad positive social and environmental impacts beyond climate. With our projects in Mindanao, we’re addressing every one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in some way, including the former insurgents are now a supplier to us. Our planting partners are indigenous tribal members, and our planting program and our nursery are run by indigenous women. We’re helping the tribes reforest their deforested lands of their ancestral domains and create multigenerational livelihoods for their communities by the annual harvest of the bamboo, and then long-term community-held assets in the bamboo plants.

Bamboo is actually a superfood, containing all the essential amino acids and is high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It can be a tool for addressing global malnutrition and assuring food security. Our primary focus at Rizome is carbon, the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and the long-term storage – excuse me, I get choked up – the long-term storage of that carbon to keep it getting – from getting back into the atmosphere. The bamboo building materials are making a really – real storage mechanism for the CO2 that’s captured by the bamboo plants. The tropical bamboo, timber bamboos, they have a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel and a greater compressive strength than concrete with a fraction of the weight.

Bamboo is an amazing structural material. We’re working with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, the architects for the Burj Khalifa, on the first high-rise that will incorporate structural bamboo. The IEA projected that the square footage of buildings on Earth will double in the next 40 years. Wood, steel, and concrete are responsible for 25 percent of human emissions currently. We need to build differently. Engineered timber bamboo offers an alternative – rapid renewability and long-term storage of carbon.

The IPCC says we need to – at least 10 gigatons of removal a year by 2050. And tropical bamboo, with the support of the State Department and others, can deliver that level of impact. Free enterprise – it’s one of the great gifts of this wonderful country. We can save our climate and make money doing it. It’s no longer business as usual. It’s business as a climate solution and community upliftment. And that’s everybody’s business.

God bless the United States of America. God bless this beautiful planet and all of us who share it. Thank you. (Applause.)

MS MORGENTHAU: David, that was amazing. Thank you so much for your remarks. And I think it really says we can – to all of you businesses, the work that’s being done, good business and doing business really do go hand in hand. But the work that’s being done around the world really is amazing. I am really thrilled to join everybody in congratulating all of the 2024 Secretary of State’s Awards for Corporate Excellence recipients. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

And finally, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez. Under Secretary Fernandez stands at the center of the department’s effort to support American businesses and American workers at home and abroad. Under his leadership, we have championed American companies around the world and made meaningful connections with the U.S. private sector to assist them in addressing critical global challenges, including in climate change, inequality, supply chain disruptions, food and energy security, mineral security, and other key areas.

As someone who has worked tirelessly supporting U.S. businesses and advancing U.S. commercial diplomacy, Under Secretary Fernandez has been involved in many ACE ceremonies, and it is now my great pleasure to welcome him to the podium to offer closing remarks. (Applause.)

UNDER SECRETARY FERNANDEZ: Good afternoon. Good afternoon. It’s great to be here. Thank you – thank you Special Representative Morgenthau, thank you, Sarah. Amy, good to see you. Thank you all for the kind introduction, and thanks to all of you for being here today and for those of you who are watching on livestream.

I’d like to just first of all congratulate the six winners. After many years of seeing companies of all types receive this honor – this is our 25th year of having this award, and I’m really excited to be here for the 25th anniversary. But I do have a complaint. I have a complaint, which is at every – I’ve now done six of these. At each one of them, I tend to close the ceremonies. I am the grim reaper; I end the festivities.

This is a wonderful – a wonderful – moment for us at the State Department. It’s a great opportunity for us to honor companies that have done well and have really highlighted and stuck by the principles that we all hold dear. So please join me to – for one last round of applause for the six winners. (Applause.)

The companies that we are honoring today showcase the best in American innovation and values. They demonstrate that businesses can flourish while being corporate role models. The shared values of protecting our planet, of helping our workers, of helping our local communities are at the forefront of the operations of all of these companies around the world.

You will have heard my colleague, Deputy Secretary Campbell, say that the global challenges that we all face cannot be solved by governments alone. This job makes you humble. But that’s why the partnership between U.S. companies and the State Department is so crucial to advance our foreign policy. We know – we know that American companies are among the best and most innovative in the world, and we know that they are among the best equipped to contribute creative solutions.

The tools and the resources of the private sector, coupled with their commitment to doing well while serving the public good, is exactly – exactly – why American companies, I think, are the – this is an easy job in many ways, because American companies are the world’s business partner of choice, and that’s why we are honoring them today. We want – every year, we want to see more and more of them.

Here at the State Department, we work every day to promote a friendly environment for businesses operating abroad. When we work with the private sector, we learn how to combine our tools and try to outmaneuver the competition, and at the same time share our values in every corner of the globe. And whether it’s protecting economic freedom for women in Ethiopia or keeping our planet safe in Suriname, American companies like the ones that we have recognized this afternoon have a track record of addressing critical issues and innovative solutions in local communities and keeping our principles at the forefront of all that they do.

This is why Sarah’s office and why the Office of Commercial and Business Affairs and our government agency colleagues, many of whom I see in the audience, from ambassadors who’ve come all the way from the Philippines, from Suriname, and elsewhere, to honor their companies – that’s why our government agency colleagues, that’s where – at the State Department we work hard to connect U.S. businesses to foreign markets and to help highlight U.S. companies as the partners of choice.

Last March, a few months ago, I proudly joined other members of the administration in the rollout of something we’re calling the second U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct. This is a set of government commitments to promote responsible business practices for our companies. We’ve also enhanced the U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises to act as a contact point to receive comments and complaints about the conduct of our companies. So we’ve enhanced this National Contact Point to work with businesses, to work with NGOs, to work with labor unions to encourage responsible business conduct among U.S. companies operating overseas.

So the challenges that we face are complex. I’m confident that through innovative and principled solutions and our continued partnership, no challenge is impossible to overcome.

So to everyone here and to all those who are joining on our livestream, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to recognize the good work of these remarkable American companies. And so please join me one last time – one last time – in extending our sincere gratitude. (Applause.)

Thank you and congratulations. (Applause.)




Joint Statement on the First Strategic Dialogue Between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States of America
10/23/2024


Joint Statement on the First Strategic Dialogue Between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States of America
10/23/2024 10:43 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
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Joint Statement on the First Strategic Dialogue Between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States of America


Media Note





October 23, 2024



The following text was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of Cyprus on the occasion of the first Republic of Cyprus – United States Strategic Dialogue:


Begin text:


The governments of the Republic of Cyprus and the United States of America launched a Strategic Dialogue in Nicosia on October 23, 2024, with the attendance of high-level representatives from both governments. The launch of this Strategic Dialogue is an important milestone in the relationship between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States and reaffirms their growing strategic partnership and intention to advance shared priorities that build a secure, safe, peaceful, and more prosperous future. The Strategic Dialogue reflects the shared resolve of the Republic of Cyprus and the United States to enhance bilateral and regional security, foster economic innovation and prosperity, and uphold shared democratic values and respect for international law. This bilateral mechanism is also a platform to advance practical cooperation in areas including crisis management and law enforcement, energy security, culture, education, innovation and technology, trade and investment, and people-to people ties.


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States reaffirmed their will to continue and enhance cooperation in the following areas:


International and Regional Cooperation


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States renewed their commitment to promoting stability, peace, and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and in Europe, particularly in the wake of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.


The two governments discussed the importance of continuing support for Ukraine and reiterated the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. They acknowledged the need to continue taking competitive steps to defend an international order that reflects shared American and Cypriot interests and values. They expressed their full support for ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, and the need to create space for a diplomatic solution along the Israel-Lebanon border, consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The United States commended the Republic of Cyprus’ leadership for the Cyprus Maritime Corridor (Amalthea Plan) for the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Furthermore, both countries expressed support, without further delay, for an immediate and durable ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the provision of full, secure, and unimpeded humanitarian aid at scale to Gaza.


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States expressed their commitment to the resumption of Cypriot-led, UN-facilitated efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus Question within the agreed UN framework and in full respect of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions that call for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as defined by the relevant UNSC Resolutions.


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States unequivocally stand for the maintenance of peace and stability across the Eastern Mediterranean. Both sides believe the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and protected, and encourage all states to resolve maritime delimitation issues peacefully in accordance with international law.


The United States congratulated the Republic of Cyprus for its election to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations for the period 2025-2027 and both sides planned on further enhancement of their cooperation in the UN framework and other multilateral fora. The two countries underscored the severe environmental consequences posed by the climate crisis and planned to strengthen cooperation in this field.


Security, Crisis Management and Law Enforcement


The two delegations highlighted their growing security cooperation following the signing of the Statement of Intent in 2018. They recognized the importance of the Cyprus Center for Land, Open-seas, and Port Security (CYCLOPS) Training Center in Larnaca, which has trained hundreds of officials from the ROC and over 20 countries in border security, the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cybersecurity, maritime security, and more. The two sides intend to continue working together for the expansion of the Center’s facilities, activities, and capabilities.


The United States welcomed the Republic of Cyprus’ progress in law enforcement collaboration by announcing several of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) capacity building partnerships, such as the new Nicosia-based Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) program and financial crimes trainings by the Internal Revenue Service. The United States joined the Republic of Cyprus in celebrating its membership in INL’s International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) and committed U.S. funding to support Cypriot participation in the coming year.


The Republic of Cyprus thanked the United States government for the support provided by INL, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024, to counter illicit finance and sanctions evasion. Both countries plan to continue joint efforts that build capacity to counter money laundering, sanctions evasion, organized crime, narcotics smuggling, and human trafficking.  The two delegations intend to continue working together to implement the bilateral, Automated Targeting System – Global Agreement, signed on June 17, 2024. The United States also underlined its support to the Republic of Cyprus’ efforts to counter new and emerging cyber and disinformation threats.


Both countries reaffirmed the significance of deepening their security and defense partnership in line with objectives under the Republic of Cyprus-United States Roadmap for Bilateral Defense Cooperation 2024-2029, signed on September 9, 2024, to enhance cooperation on humanitarian disasters, international military education and joint training exercises, exchanges of information, interoperability, joint recovery operations, and enhancing capabilities.


The United States praised the Republic of Cyprus for its important role and continued leadership in crisis management and for supporting citizens in crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean by offering its ports, airports, and facilities for the safe evacuation of civilians via the Republic of Cyprus. The countries also discussed ways to enhance collaboration related to Cyprus’ national evacuation plan ”Estia” for the reception and repatriation of citizens of third countries during an armed conflict as well as emergency planning for natural and human-made disasters, including wildfire readiness. Both affirmed the need to find sustainable solutions to tackle migration and refugee flows affecting both Europe and the United States.


Education, Culture and People-to-People Ties


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the deep and enduring ties between the people of both nations. Both sides reiterated the importance of enhancing bilateral tourism flows.  The United States recognized the key importance of tourism for the economy of the Republic of Cyprus. The United States welcomed the great progress made by the government of the Republic of Cyprus toward eligibility for the U.S. Visa Waiver Program and reiterated its strong support for Cyprus fully meeting the requirements for eligibility for the Program the soonest possible, bringing important security and economic benefits to our partnership. The Republic of Cyprus also underlined the importance of improving air connectivity to maintain and enhance tourism flows, including from the United States.


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States reiterated their shared commitment to expanding educational opportunities and cultural exchanges. The United States welcomed Cypriots into the Community College Initiative Program, through which students develop technical skills that respond to emerging labor market demands in fields such as applied engineering, information technology, and sustainable agriculture. The Ministry of Education, Sport, and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus announced readiness to partner with the U.S. government and sign an MoU with the U.S.-based Institute of International Education for the Fulbright Student English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program. The Republic of Cyprus and the United States reaffirmed commitments to the protection of cultural heritage through the implementation of the bilateral 2022 Agreement Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archaeological and Ethnological Material of the Republic of Cyprus and highlighted opportunities to share best practices in cultural preservation. The Republic of Cyprus announced endorsement of the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, which aim to provide a measure of justice to Holocaust survivors.


Energy, Trade, Technology, and Space Affairs


On energy, both countries emphasized the shared goal of greater regional interconnectivity and to end the Republic of Cyprus’ energy isolation through the development of natural gas resources and electricity interconnections, such as the Great Sea Interconnector. The two sides highlighted the presence of U.S. energy companies in the Republic of Cyprus’ energy sector and ongoing efforts, among others, to advance the development of the Aphrodite field. The Republic of Cyprus and the United States also discussed ways to promote energy cooperation between the two governments. The two countries intend to continue working steadily together to promote regional cooperation and prosperity, including through the 3+1 format (the Republic of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, plus the United States).


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States assessed progress in economic cooperation and highlighted efforts to strengthen commercial ties as well as to attracting private investments. Both nations acknowledged the importance of the Republic of Cyprus’ efforts to institutionalize a foreign direct investment screening mechanism. The Republic of Cyprus committed to doing so in compliance with the EU Foreign Direct Investment Regulation (2019/452).


The delegations reaffirmed their joint commitment to promoting and deepening cooperation on research, technology, and innovation on the basis of the 2022 Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement. They discussed an exchange program for capacity building in emerging technologies, opportunities for building AI cloud data centers powered by clean energy, and the establishment of a regional Maritime Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in the Republic of Cyprus. At the dialogue, the Republic of Cyprus signed onto the Artemis Accords, becoming the 46th country to do so.  Under the Artemis Accords principles, the United States and the Republic of Cyprus affirm their shared commitment to a common vision for the peaceful, sustainable, and transparent exploration and use of space.  Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Dr. Nicodemos Damianou signed the Accords on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus.


The Republic of Cyprus and the United States look forward to charting forward a path together and furthering deepening bilateral cooperation. The Republic of Cyprus and the United States look forward to the next dialogue and follow up sessions to promote progress on specific initiatives.


End text.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Cyprus Office of the Spokesperson


United States Welcomes the Republic of Cyprus’ Signing of the Artemis Accords
10/23/2024


United States Welcomes the Republic of Cyprus’ Signing of the Artemis Accords
10/23/2024 11:53 AM EDT



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United States Welcomes the Republic of Cyprus’ Signing of the Artemis Accords


Media Note





October 23, 2024



The Republic of Cyprus became the 46th signatory of the Artemis Accords at a ceremony in Nicosia today. The Republic of Cyprus’ Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy Nicodemos Damianou signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the government and in the presence of State Department Assistant Secretary James O’Brien and NASA Associate Administrator James Free, who participated virtually.


The United States welcomes the Republic of Cyprus to the Artemis Accords, the latest step forward in the successful and growing partnership across a wide range of issues between our two countries. The signing coincides with the first-ever U.S.-Republic of Cyprus Strategic Dialogue, held in Nicosia. The Republic of Cyprus signing the Artemis Accords is a testament to our cooperation in outer space and our shared belief that civil space exploration and use calls for best practices and norms of responsible behavior.


The Artemis Accords were established in 2020 by the United States and seven other countries. They set out a practical set of principles to guide responsible space exploration.  The Republic of Cyprus joins the United States and 44 other nations – Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay – in affirming the Accords’ principles for sustainable civil space activity.  The Department of State and NASA lead the United States’ outreach and implementation of the Accords. 


For more information, please visit https://www.state.gov/artemis-accords/. For media inquiries, please contact OES-Press@state.gov.



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Artemis Accords Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Cyprus Office of the Spokesperson


Under Secretary Jenkins Travels to Luxembourg and Brussels
10/23/2024

Under Secretary Jenkins Travels to Luxembourg and Brussels
10/23/2024 03:03 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins will travel to Luxembourg and Brussels from October 23-26.

While in Luxembourg, she will meet with government officials to highlight the U.S. and Luxembourg’s strategic partnership as NATO Allies. The Under Secretary’s engagements will focus on transatlantic defense industry and space technology.

In Brussels, the Under Secretary will also meet with her counterparts and lead the United States’ participation in NATO’s Arms Control, Disarmament and Nonproliferation Committee.

For further information, please follow @UnderSecT on X.




U.S. Department of State Marks 75th NATO Anniversary with Professional Exchange Program
10/23/2024



U.S. Department of State Marks 75th NATO Anniversary with Professional Exchange Program
10/23/2024 05:13 PM EDT



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U.S. Department of State Marks 75th NATO Anniversary with Professional Exchange Program


Media Note





October 23, 2024



This week, the U.S. Department of State welcomes more than 30 public officials, academics, and security analysts from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states and aspirant countries to the United States for a special International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) focused on the enduring legacy and future of the NATO Alliance.


From October 21 to November 1, 2024, international participants will visit Washington, DC; Annapolis and Baltimore, MD; Norfolk, VA; and Colorado Springs, CO, for discussions with their American counterparts on outcomes of the July 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, DC, and strategies to counter military and non-military threats posed by disinformation, cyber-attacks, and other contemporary challenges. The program will also explore U.S. efforts to bolster key alliances and partnerships, U.S.-NATO military coordination, and support for NATO through domestic mechanisms like the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program.


Program highlights include engagements with interlocutors from the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense, Business Executives for National Security (BENS), Maryland State leadership and the Maryland National Guard, Joint Force Command – Norfolk (JCF-NF), the El Pomar Foundation, United States Space Command, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).


The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program.  For press inquiries, please contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at ECA-Press@state.gov.



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Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Colorado District of Columbia Maryland North Atlantic Treaty Organization Office of the Spokesperson Virginia


Deputy Secretary Verma’s Travel to France
10/23/2024
Deputy Secretary Verma’s Travel to France
10/23/2024 07:20 PM EDT



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Deputy Secretary Verma’s Travel to France


Media Note





October 23, 2024



Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R. Verma will travel to Paris, France, October 23-25 to participate in the International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty hosted by the Government of France. Deputy Secretary Verma will meet with partner states, as well as representatives of international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, to discuss the need to reach a diplomatic resolution that will enable civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return home. Deputy Secretary Verma will also discuss the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese people and supporting Lebanese state institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces.


Follow Deputy Secretary of State Verma on Instagram and X: @DepSecStateMR.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources France Lebanon Office of the Spokesperson Official International Travel


The 2024 Fifth U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue
10/24/2024



The 2024 Fifth U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue
10/24/2024 08:29 AM EDT



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The 2024 Fifth U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue


Media Note





October 24, 2024



Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez led the fifth U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD), conducted under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), on October 23, 2024, virtually from Washington, D.C.


Under Secretary Fernandez was joined by representatives from the Department of State and the International Development Finance Corporation for discussions with TECRO Representative Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, Minister of Economic Affairs J.H. Kuo, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Remus Chen, and other representatives both in person and virtually. Concurrently, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Robert Garverick led a U.S. delegation to Taiwan from October 21-24, 2024, to inform the EPPD. During his visit, DAS Garverick met with Taiwan interlocutors to discuss a range of economic issues of mutual importance.


Both sides welcomed the dialogue as an opportunity to deepen economic cooperation and strengthen the robust economic partnership between the two economies. The dialogue featured exchanges on responding to economic coercion, supply chain resilience and investment, addressing tax-related barriers to increase investment between the United States and Taiwan, and ensuring a secure energy transition toward Taiwan’s NetZero 2050 goals. Discussions focused on highlighting progress made over the past year and identifying new areas for cooperation, including on transportation and green climate initiatives, partnering on infrastructure development with regional partners, information sharing, and mutual understanding.


The inaugural EPPD occurred in November 2020 under the auspices of AIT and TECRO to advance cooperation on a broad range of economic issues and forge closer ties between the two economies.



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Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Office of the Spokesperson Taiwan Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment


Joint Statement on United States–Liechtenstein Strategic Dialogue
10/24/2024


Joint Statement on United States–Liechtenstein Strategic Dialogue
10/24/2024 01:38 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the occasion of the United States – Liechtenstein Strategic and Economic Partnership Dialogue:

Begin Text.

The Governments of the United States of America and the Principality of Liechtenstein held the inaugural U.S.-Liechtenstein Strategic and Economic Partnership Dialogue in Washington, DC on October 22-23, 2024.  The dialogue was hosted by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.  Liechtenstein was represented by Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport. The dialogue also featured senior representatives from the Liechtenstein and U.S. governments.

The launch of the Strategic and Economic Partnership Dialogue reflects the strong and growing partnership between the United States and Liechtenstein. The United States and Liechtenstein reaffirmed our shared values and committed to strengthening cooperation across a broad range of economic and security priorities. Topics of the dialogue included the strengthening of economic cooperation; the deepening of people-to-people ties; Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine; the growing threat of foreign information manipulation and hybrid threats; shared challenges related to geopolitical tensions and erosion of the international rule of law; and a shared commitment to stop the flow of illicit finance through strengthened sanctions enforcement and anti-money laundering efforts.

The United States and Liechtenstein affirmed our unwavering solidarity with the Ukrainian people and support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Both countries further affirmed the need to hold Russia accountable. Liechtenstein and the United States discussed the challenges posed by those who support Russia’s defense industrial base. The two countries also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation at the UN and in other multilateral fora, as well as mechanisms to counter disinformation campaigns that undermine democratic principles and institutions.

During the dialogue, the United States and Liechtenstein celebrated strong economic ties and assessed progress towards further increasing bilateral trade and investment. They also discussed additional measures with the potential to improve framework conditions for bilateral economic activity and cooperation, and recognized apprenticeship training as an important way to promote business ties and workforce development in line with the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding. The United States commended Liechtenstein’s cooperation on sanctions enforcement and countering money laundering and committed to continue joint efforts to address loopholes and stop illicit financial flows. The United States welcomed Liechtenstein’s October 21 accession as the 191st member of the International Monetary Fund and commended the Principality for its passage of marriage equality earlier this year.

The United States and Liechtenstein committed to continued dialogue and strengthening of the bilateral partnership. The two sides plan to hold the next session of the Strategic and Economic Partnership Dialogue in Vaduz in 2026.

End Text.




U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee Statement
10/25/2024


U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee Statement
10/25/2024 01:38 PM EDT



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U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee Statement


Media Note





October 25, 2024



The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Greenland on the occasion of the U.S. Greenland Joint Committee meeting in Washington, D.C. October 21-22, 2024:


Begin text:


Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Igaliku Joint Declaration creating the Joint Committee, the Governments of the United States and Greenland met in Washington, D.C. on October 21-22, 2024, with the participation of the Government of Denmark, to strengthen our partnership and continue building on our shared goals across key areas of cooperation. Committee discussions focused on building connectivity between our two peoples, economies, and governments, and reaffirmed the importance of government-to-government and people-to-people collaboration in trade, energy, education, and research. A wide range of U.S. Government departments and agencies hosted the Greenlandic delegation, underscoring the whole-of-government approach to deepening and broadening our partnership on topics including: tourism development; health care; co-creation of scientific research, education and cultural exchange; and safe, secure and sustainable investment.


We reviewed our progress and set new priorities for 2025 across the following areas, ensuring our cooperation continues to benefit both our peoples.


Trade and Investment


We remain committed to fostering economic growth and sustainable development in Greenland. Both governments are working to increase investment and strengthen trade ties, while supporting local and private sector partners to create more opportunities in key sectors such as tourism. We share a goal to build lasting networks to support increased bilateral trade, a thriving Greenlandic entrepreneurial ecosystem, and a Greenland-led tourism industry, inclusive of indigenous rights.


Minerals and Energy


Our collaboration on Greenland’s energy and mineral resource sectors continues to grow, especially in supporting clean energy deployment and responsible critical mineral development. Together, we are exploring innovative ways to integrate renewable energy into Greenland’s energy supply and to enhance Greenland’s role in global clean energy supply chains.


Education and Cultural Exchange


Our shared focus on education and culture is central to Greenland’s priority to build a sustainable, diversified economy. The committee furthered efforts to match U.S. educational institutions with Greenlandic vocational and higher education institutions, building on existing exchange programs while pursuing new opportunities.


Environmental and Scientific Cooperation


We are deepening our environmental and scientific partnerships and will explore opportunities of collaboration in health care. Together, we will continue to push forward co-created, innovative projects that strengthen our mutual understanding of the Arctic region, which is key to addressing the global climate crisis, while supporting Greenland’s efforts to strengthen its scientific community and organize the framework for scientific activities in Greenland.


End text.



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Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Denmark Greenland Office of the Spokesperson


U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee Statement
10/25/2024

U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee Statement
10/25/2024 01:38 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee Statement
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U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee Statement


Media Note





October 25, 2024



The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Greenland on the occasion of the U.S. Greenland Joint Committee meeting in Washington, D.C. October 21-22, 2024:


Begin text:


Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Igaliku Joint Declaration creating the Joint Committee, the Governments of the United States and Greenland met in Washington, D.C. on October 21-22, 2024, with the participation of the Government of Denmark, to strengthen our partnership and continue building on our shared goals across key areas of cooperation. Committee discussions focused on building connectivity between our two peoples, economies, and governments, and reaffirmed the importance of government-to-government and people-to-people collaboration in trade, energy, education, and research. A wide range of U.S. Government departments and agencies hosted the Greenlandic delegation, underscoring the whole-of-government approach to deepening and broadening our partnership on topics including: tourism development; health care; co-creation of scientific research, education and cultural exchange; and safe, secure and sustainable investment.


We reviewed our progress and set new priorities for 2025 across the following areas, ensuring our cooperation continues to benefit both our peoples.


Trade and Investment


We remain committed to fostering economic growth and sustainable development in Greenland. Both governments are working to increase investment and strengthen trade ties, while supporting local and private sector partners to create more opportunities in key sectors such as tourism. We share a goal to build lasting networks to support increased bilateral trade, a thriving Greenlandic entrepreneurial ecosystem, and a Greenland-led tourism industry, inclusive of indigenous rights.


Minerals and Energy


Our collaboration on Greenland’s energy and mineral resource sectors continues to grow, especially in supporting clean energy deployment and responsible critical mineral development. Together, we are exploring innovative ways to integrate renewable energy into Greenland’s energy supply and to enhance Greenland’s role in global clean energy supply chains.


Education and Cultural Exchange


Our shared focus on education and culture is central to Greenland’s priority to build a sustainable, diversified economy. The committee furthered efforts to match U.S. educational institutions with Greenlandic vocational and higher education institutions, building on existing exchange programs while pursuing new opportunities.


Environmental and Scientific Cooperation


We are deepening our environmental and scientific partnerships and will explore opportunities of collaboration in health care. Together, we will continue to push forward co-created, innovative projects that strengthen our mutual understanding of the Arctic region, which is key to addressing the global climate crisis, while supporting Greenland’s efforts to strengthen its scientific community and organize the framework for scientific activities in Greenland.


End text.



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Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Denmark Greenland Office of the Spokesperson


The Week at State: October 18 – October 24, 2024
10/25/2024








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October 18 – October 24

Maligayang Filipino American History Month! Since our founding, Filipinos and Filipino Americans have enriched the very essence of who we are as a people.

Here's what happened at State this past week. ⤵️✈️ Secretary Blinken traveled to the Middle East and the United Kingdom.
🇺🇦 We announced millions of dollars in funding to support Ukraine.
🏆 Secretary Blinken honored six leaders as Global Anti-Racism Champions.


Reaffirming Our Commitment to De-escalate Tensions and Provide Stability in the Middle East

Secretary Blinken traveled to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Kingdom this week to discuss:Bringing the war in Gaza to an end.
Securing the release of all hostages.
Alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Achieving a diplomatic solution in Lebanon.

Secretary Blinken also announced an additional $135 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the region. The Secretary discussed helping Palestinians rebuild their lives and reaching a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hizballah.








United with Ukraine

Our commitment to Ukraine’s victory is unwavering.

On Monday, Secretary Blinken announced a new $400 million assistance package to support Ukraine’s defense.

“The United States and more than 50 nations stand united with Ukraine, and this support will ensure continued robust support in the months ahead,” Secretary Blinken said on X/Twitter.

Last week, Under Secretary Uzra Zeya visited Kyiv and announced three new initiatives to help Ukraine win the war: A $5 million grant to increase government transparency and accountability by supporting civil society organizations and investigative journalists.
A $2 million grant to support reparative justice for Ukrainians.
$2 million for UN Women toward a new partnership that advances women, peace, and security in Ukraine.

Lastly, President Biden noted that America and Germany are Ukraine’s two largest supporters in its fight for survival.

“As Ukraine faces a tough winter, we must … sustain our resolve, our effort, and our support,” President Biden said in Germany.


Secretary Blinken Honors Six Global Anti-Racism Champions

We recognized six individuals as 2024 Global Anti-Racism Champions for inspiring work in their countries. The winners are: Elvis Shakjiri, a tireless champion for North Macedonia’s Roma community.
Tomasa Yarhui Jacomé, the first Indigenous woman to lead a Bolivian ministry and the first Indigenous woman candidate for vice president.
John Leerdam, for theater productions about Dutch colonial history and slavery and a planned slavery museum.
Dintie Sule Tayiru, who promotes the inclusion of the Fulbe people, a marginalized ethnic group in Ghana.
Urmila Chaudhary, for advancing human rights and economic justice for Indigenous women in Nepal.
Tanya Duarte, who cares for victims of domestic and sexual violence and advocates for the rights of Afro-Mexicans.

“They are true defenders of human rights, working around the world to assist marginalized racial and ethnic groups,” the Secretary said on X/Twitter.


These American Businesses Raise the Bar on Corporate Social Responsibility

We recognized the six winners of the 2024 Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). The award highlights American businesses that exemplify corporate social responsibility while using innovative tools and technologies to create a positive impact in the world.

Parker Clay and Bank of America won in the Women’s Economic Security category, Koster Keunen and Microsoft were awarded for Innovation to Strengthen Communities, and Rizome and Newmont Corporation won in the Climate Resilience category.

“Congratulations to the six U.S. companies recognized this 25th year of [ACE] for advancing sustainability, equity, and opportunity in the countries where they operate,” Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell said on X/Twitter.


Get Your Passport Even Faster

We’re here to help you get a jump start on your international travels.

We reduced passport processing times from 6-8 weeks to 4-6 weeks. But if you opt for the expedited service, you’ll only wait 2-3 weeks for your passport.

In 2024, we broke passport processing records for the third consecutive year, issuing 24.5 million passports.

“Processing times are down and more than 1 million Americans have now used our online passport renewal system to renew entirely online,” Secretary Blinken said on X/Twitter.


News You May Have MissedPresident Biden welcomed Prime Minister Robert Golob of the Republic of Slovenia to the White House.
Secretary Blinken condemned Wednesday’s terrorist attack against Türkiye and said the United States stands with our Ally.
We condemned the killings of lawyer Elvino Dias and Podemos parliamentary candidate Paulo Guame in Mozambique.
We mourned the passing of Tina Kaidanow, the United States’ first ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo.
Leaders from 60 countries and American climate experts met to tackle food security as part of our International Visitor Leadership Program.
The U.S. and Zambia signed a landmark $491 million deal to fuel growth in its agricultural sector.
We announced the roster for the 2024 Department of State-espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program.
We launched the American Music Mentorship Program, which connects music professionals from around the world.






🔎 Looking AheadOctober 31: Diwali
November 5: Election Day
November 11: Veterans Day
👉 Note to Our Readers

We welcome your feedback on this newsletter. Send us your thoughts to EmailTeam@state.gov. 📩












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Under Secretary Fernandez Remarks at the U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony
10/25/2024

Under Secretary Fernandez Remarks at the U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony
10/25/2024 04:37 PM EDT



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Under Secretary Fernandez Remarks at the U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony


Notice to the Press





October 25, 2024



On October 29, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. ET in Washington, D.C., Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez will deliver remarks alongside the Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Yulia Svyrydenko at an official signing ceremony between the United States and Ukraine to advance critical minerals cooperation. The Under Secretary and Minister will provide opening remarks before signing an agreement on strategic cooperation in the sector, which will expand opportunities for investment in Ukraine’s critical minerals resources, promote collaboration on the clean energy transition, and strengthen the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.


Media representatives wishing to attend the remarks must RSVP by email to E_Communications@state.gov. Press should arrive no later than at 11:15 a.m. ET. The remarks will take place at the Harry S Truman Building, 2201 C St. NW, Washington, D.C., 20520, and press access will be the C Street Main Entrance. There is limited space, so please confirm as soon as possible.


The official signing ceremony space does not allow for electronics, but the event is on-the-record and attributable. Photos and video will be collected by authorized Department personnel and shared with reporters after the event. The Under Secretary’s remarks will not be livestreamed but will be recorded and published online as prepared following the conclusion of the ceremony.


To register, please contact: E_Communications@state.gov.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Energy Minerals Office of the Spokesperson Ukraine Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment


Under Secretary Fernandez Remarks at the U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony
10/25/2024
Under Secretary Fernandez Remarks at the U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony
10/25/2024 04:37 PM EDT



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Under Secretary Fernandez Remarks at the U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony


Notice to the Press





October 25, 2024



On October 29, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. ET in Washington, D.C., Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez will deliver remarks alongside the Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Yulia Svyrydenko at an official signing ceremony between the United States and Ukraine to advance critical minerals cooperation. The Under Secretary and Minister will provide opening remarks before signing an agreement on strategic cooperation in the sector, which will expand opportunities for investment in Ukraine’s critical minerals resources, promote collaboration on the clean energy transition, and strengthen the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.


Media representatives wishing to attend the remarks must RSVP by email to E_Communications@state.gov. Press should arrive no later than at 11:15 a.m. ET. The remarks will take place at the Harry S Truman Building, 2201 C St. NW, Washington, D.C., 20520, and press access will be the C Street Main Entrance. There is limited space, so please confirm as soon as possible.


The official signing ceremony space does not allow for electronics, but the event is on-the-record and attributable. Photos and video will be collected by authorized Department personnel and shared with reporters after the event. The Under Secretary’s remarks will not be livestreamed but will be recorded and published online as prepared following the conclusion of the ceremony.


To register, please contact: E_Communications@state.gov.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Energy Minerals Office of the Spokesperson Ukraine Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment


U.S. Advances Cooperation with Japan and the Philippines to Build Economic Resilience
10/25/2024


U.S. Advances Cooperation with Japan and the Philippines to Build Economic Resilience
10/25/2024 05:53 PM EDT



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U.S. Advances Cooperation with Japan and the Philippines to Build Economic Resilience


Media Note





October 25, 2024



On October 25, senior government officials from the United States, Japan, and the Philippines convened an informal trilateral discussion in Manila on countering economic coercion and promoting economic resilience. The discussion was chaired by Ms. Ma. Corazon Halili—Dichosa, Executive Director for Industry Development Services at the Board of Investments of the Republic of the Philippines.  The U.S. delegation was led by Jonathan Fritz, Chief of Staff to Jose W. Fernandez, the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the U.S. Department of State; and the Japanese delegation was led by Mochizuki Chihiro, Director for Economic Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 


The discussion is intended to strengthen close coordination to address economic coercion and build economic resilience based on “the Joint Vision Statement from the Leaders of Japan, the Philippines, and the United States” issued at the first Japan-U.S.-Philippines Summit this April.  The participants shared their concern over and strong opposition to economic coercion and a commitment to building economic resilience. They also affirmed that the three countries intend to cooperate to raise awareness of this issue among the international community and enhance their resilience to and response capabilities to potential economic coercion.


To stay up to date, follow Under Secretary Fernandez on X:  @State_E, LinkedIn:  @State-E, and Facebook:  @StateDeptE. For media inquiries, please contact E_Communications@state.gov. 



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Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Economic Affairs Economic Participation Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Japan Office of the Spokesperson Philippines Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment


Secretary Blinken’s Call with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Barrot
10/25/2024

Secretary Blinken’s Call with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Barrot
10/25/2024 07:58 PM EDT



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Secretary Blinken’s Call with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Barrot


Readout





October 25, 2024



The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:


Secretary Blinken spoke today with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot. The Secretary welcomed France’s leadership in rallying humanitarian support for persons displaced by the fighting in Lebanon and to bolster assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces. He underscored the need for good faith efforts by all political actors to resolve the political impasse and pave the way for the election of a Lebanese president. He emphasized the importance of a diplomatic resolution that allows civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return home safely. Additionally, they discussed the immediate need to bring home the hostages, end the war in Gaza, and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Elections France Hostage Recovery Humanitarian Aid Lebanon Office of the Spokesperson Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance


Secretary Blinken’s Call with UK Foreign Secretary Lammy
10/26/2024

Secretary Blinken’s Call with UK Foreign Secretary Lammy
10/26/2024 08:19 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday. They discussed the importance of ending the war in Gaza, bringing all the hostages home, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people. On Lebanon, they reaffirmed the need for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that allows Lebanese and Israeli civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to safely return home. They also discussed the growing humanitarian needs in Lebanon, with the Secretary highlighting the $157 million in humanitarian assistance the U.S. recently announced.




Georgia Parliamentary Elections
10/27/2024


Georgia Parliamentary Elections
10/27/2024 09:41 PM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Georgia’s vibrant democracy has been a source of strength since 2004, and yesterday’s turnout demonstrates the Georgian people’s embrace of democracy. In 2024, however, international and local observers noted a pre-election environment marked by the ruling party’s misuse of public resources, vote buying, and voter intimidation, all of which contributed to an uneven playing field and undermined public and international trust in the possibility of a fair outcome. While international and local observers agreed that Election Day was generally well administered, we note reports of irregularities and sporadic violence. International observers have not declared the result to be free and fair. We condemn all contraventions of international norms and join calls from international and local observers for a full investigation of all reports of election-related violations.

Going forward, we encourage Georgia’s political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together. Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration goals, enshrined in the country’s constitution, require that the government respect the rights of members of civil society and the fundamental freedoms of all Georgian citizens.


Announcing the Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0
10/28/2024


Announcing the Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0
10/28/2024 09:48 AM EDT



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Announcing the Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0


Media Note





October 28, 2024



The U.S. Department of State, through its U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership (USASCP), is pleased to announce the launch of the $3 million Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0 (BIF 2.0), in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute. This initiative aims to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in ASEAN member states pioneering innovative, carbon-neutral solutions to urban challenges. In 2022, the inaugural Business Innovation Fund supported individual projects ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 for a total of $1 million in awards. Projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam received funding for agroecology gardens, biodegradable seaweed packaging, plastics recycling, carbon footprinting, hydrologic flood monitoring systems, and solar panel recycling. This initiative underscores the U.S. commitment to accelerate urban sustainability and climate action across the ASEAN region.


Tripling the impact of the first iteration, the Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0 (BIF 2.0) will provide $3 million in financing for carbon-neutral urban innovation projects The U.S. Department of State will partner with Enterprise Singapore, a government agency which champions enterprise development under Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, and will finance select joint projects between ASEAN member states and Singapore to expand private sector cooperation and promote ASEAN-Singapore business partnerships to accelerate urban innovation and sustainable market solutions. This partnership with Enterprise Singapore will support Singapore-based companies’ collaboration with entities in ASEAN, defined as companies, NGOs, and universities registered with at least 51 percent ownership in an ASEAN member state, through joint activities such as research and development to bring projects to market. Interested parties can submit proposals between October 2024 and February 2025 at usascp.org/apply.



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Association of Southeast Asian Nations Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Business Office of the Spokesperson Singapore


United States Welcomes the United Kingdom’s Actions Against Known Purveyors of Kremlin Disinformation
10/28/2024


United States Welcomes the United Kingdom’s Actions Against Known Purveyors of Kremlin Disinformation
10/28/2024 12:57 PM EDT



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United States Welcomes the United Kingdom’s Actions Against Known Purveyors of Kremlin Disinformation


Media Note





October 28, 2024



Today, the United Kingdom sanctioned known Russian Government-linked disinformation actors responsible for foreign malign influence campaigns, including during this summer’s EU parliamentary elections. The United States welcomes the United Kingdom’s sanctioning of the Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura, ANO Dialogue, Andrey Perla, Nikolai Tupikin, and Ilya Gambashidze. These actions are an important contribution to protecting the integrity of our global information environment.


The United Kingdom’s sanctions on these entities and individuals build upon actions taken by the United States over the last year to hold these actors responsible for their disinformation and propaganda campaigns conducted on behalf of the Kremlin. One year ago, the Department’s Global Engagement Center exposed the SDA, Structura, and their leadership for a pro-Kremlin information laundering scheme in twelve Latin American countries, where Kremlin-produced disinformation was covertly placed in local outlets to appear as genuine news articles. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Ilya Gambashidze, SDA, Nikolai Tupikin, ANO Dialogue, Structura, and others for their role in Kremlin disinformation operations, including the operation colloquially known as “Doppelgänger,” which involved implementing, on behalf of the Russian Federation, a sprawling network of over 60 websites that impersonated legitimate news organizations in Europe, and which used misleading social media accounts.


An open, free, and fact-based information environment is central to a well-functioning democratic society. When malign actors working as tools of the Kremlin exploit and undermine that environment, democracies must respond. This and other recent exposure efforts targeting Kremlin disinformation demonstrate the growing coordination between the United States, the United Kingdom, and our multilateral partners. Together, we will continue to promote accountability for foreign malign information operations that seek to undermine our societies and democratic processes.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Disinformation Office of the Spokesperson Russia United Kingdom


Acting Assistant Secretary Holman’s Travel to Iowa
10/28/2024


Acting Assistant Secretary Holman’s Travel to Iowa
10/28/2024 05:23 PM EDT



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Acting Assistant Secretary Holman’s Travel to Iowa


Media Note





October 28, 2024



Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Amy Holman will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 29-Nov. 1 to attend the World Food Prize Foundation’s Borlaug Dialogue and World Food Prize Laureate Ceremony. She will reaffirm the Department’s commitment to ensuring food security with our partners around the world and will stress the vital role of the United States and its businesses in continuing innovation to strengthen world food security.


While in Iowa, Acting Assistant Secretary Holman will meet with U.S. agriculture industry leaders on new developments in U.S. agriculture technology. She will also meet with President of the African Development Bank Group Akinwumi Adesina on food security needs on the continent, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig on Iowa’s agriculture industry, and attend a bilateral meeting with Guyana Secretary of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha. She will host a panel discussion on women’s access to agricultural technology, the Department’s first event supporting the 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.


On Thursday, Oct. 31, Acting Assistant Secretary Holman will meet with the Global Youth Institute and the Greater Des Moines Business Partnership before attending the 2024 World Food Prize Laureate’s Award Ceremony. She will also conduct meetings with the World Food Prize Foundation.


For media inquiries, please contact eb-press-inquiry@state.gov.



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Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Food Security Iowa Office of the Spokesperson


Department Press Briefing – October 28, 2024
10/28/2024
Department Press Briefing – October 28, 2024
10/28/2024 08:06 PM EDT



Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson
HomeDepartment Press Briefing – October 28, 2024
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Department Press Briefing – October 28, 2024






October 28, 2024




2:12 p.m. EDT


MR MILLER: Good afternoon, everyone.


QUESTION: Good afternoon.


MR MILLER: It doesn’t feel as cold in here today as usual. I’ll have to talk to the authorities about that.


Let’s start with some opening remarks. The Georgian people went to the polls on Saturday in an election environment shaped by the ruling party’s policies, including misuse of public resources, vote buying, and voter intimidation. This contributed to an uneven playing field and undermined public and international trust in the possibility of a fair outcome. We join calls from international and local observers for a full investigation of all reports of election-related violations, and urge respect for the fundamental freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.


We encourage Georgia’s governing officials to consider the relationship they want with the Euro-Atlantic community, rather than strengthening policies that are praised by authoritarians. More than 80 percent of the Georgian people want to see the country integrated into the EU and NATO. The constitution of Georgia – proposed and backed by the current governing party – stipulates the pursuit of these membership – of membership in these Euro-Atlantic institutions. All parties campaigned in support of this goal, but the governing party has adopted measures inconsistent with that course.


The Georgian Government can recommit to its democratic Euro-Atlantic trajectory by respecting the rule of law, addressing deficiencies in its electoral process, withdrawing and repealing anti-democratic legislation, and undertaking significant effort on outstanding EU accession reform recommendations.


We have consistently urged the Georgian Government this year to walk back its anti-democratic actions and return to its Euro-Atlantic path. We do not rule out further consequences if the Georgian Government’s direction does not change.


With that, Matt.


QUESTION: Okay, thanks. So, you’re not a big fan of how it turned out, or the process?


MR MILLER: We want to see the process investigated. We’ve noted the irregularities and the calls from local and international officials to see a full investigation, and we join those calls.


QUESTION: Does that mean that you take issue with the results?


MR MILLER: We are not – don’t have a final —


QUESTION: As they have been —


MR MILLER: So we don’t have a final assessment on the results now. We want to see —


QUESTION: Right, as they have been characterized —


MR MILLER: We want to see an investigation. We want to see —


QUESTION: — as they have been characterized by various people, including non-Georgians.


MR MILLER: We want to see an investigation take place.


QUESTION: All right. Before going to the Middle East, can I just ask you very briefly if you guys have any response to the Iranian – Iran’s execution of a California resident?


MR MILLER: So, I saw those reports just before I walked in here. I don’t have a specific reaction to that report. I want to be able to find out more about it. But we have long made clear that we oppose the way Iran carries out executions, often for – often in a way that fundamentally violates human rights, in a way – in response to actions that are fundamental human freedoms.


QUESTION: Okay. Unless someone has something more on that, I want to go to the Middle East.


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: Okay. So, the Secretary got back on Friday. As he was flying back, Israel was beginning its retaliation, or began and finished its retaliation of – maybe finished its retaliation against Iran. I’m wondering what you can say, one, about that; and then two, about your efforts, such as they are, to try to get ceasefires for both Gaza and Lebanon.


MR MILLER: Yeah, sure. On the first, so as you heard us made clear, starting on October 1st, when Iran launched its unprecedented ballistic missile attack, 200 ballistic missiles launched from Iran at the state of Israel, Israel had a right to respond to that attack. We supported their right to do so. They responded on Friday night, and we believe this should be the end of that – of the matter.


As you know, because we talked about it quite publicly, we were communicating with them for nearly four weeks about the nature of their response and making sure that their response should be one that would be proportionate and would not in any way lead to further escalation. We believe that was the nature of the response and that Iran should not respond in any way. And that if Iran does not respond in any way – or I’m sorry, if Iran does respond in any way, we will continue to defend Israel.


When it comes to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, so as you know, negotiators met over the weekend to discuss how we can capitalize on the opportunity presented by Yahya Sinwar’s death to try to move forward negotiations and get to an end of the war. I’m not going to get into the substance of the negotiations. But as the Secretary said last week, we wanted to see whether there are new formulations, new permutations of the deals that have been on the table, to see if there’s a way to break the logjam that we’ve been at and move forward and finally get an end to the war. And we will continue to pursue that.


And then when it relates to the conflict in Lebanon, I don’t have any new updates from what the Secretary said last week.


QUESTION: Okay. On the Iran retaliation, are you satisfied with – that the Israelis listened to your advice and counsel?


MR MILLER: We do believe that the – well, let me say first of all, so you heard the President say publicly a couple of things that he thought should not be included in the response. And if you look at the response that Israel launched, it did not include nuclear-related targets or attacks on economic sites. The response from Israel was limited to military sites, which was entirely appropriate given the nature of the attack by Iran.


So, we do think it was a proportionate response that should not lead to further escalation by Iran, and we certainly hope that Iran will not further escalate the conflict.


QUESTION: Thanks.


MR MILLER: Yeah, Shannon.


QUESTION: Thank you. Over the past week, a lot of the discussion about post-Sinwar conflict in Gaza has been about figuring out whether Hamas is serious about cutting any kind of hostage deal. Now it’s been about a week and a half since Sinwar was confirmed to be dead. Is the time that has elapsed indicative that Hamas is not serious?


MR MILLER: I think it is too early to say, to be perfectly honest. So, Hamas has a process it goes through to select a new – new leadership. It appears to be going through that process now. We obviously don’t have a great deal of insight into Hamas’s internal decision making, but based on our conversations in the region our understanding is that Hamas is being run by a council now. And at some point, will go through a process to select a new leader. And I think the results over the next few weeks will determine whether there has been a change in their posture.


What we know is that the barrier we faced before his death was that Sinwar had ruled out negotiating further on any matter. The proposal that he had submitted in July was his final offer, and he wasn’t willing to negotiate any further, and he had the ability to make that decision. He was the clear leader of Hamas.


Whether the new leadership will have a new position, based on either their own assessments of the situation or based on the changing facts since then, we don’t know. But we believe there is an opportunity to pursue a deal, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.


QUESTION: Is the State Department confident that if Hamas is either unwilling or unable to hand over the remaining hostages that it will be able to bring this conflict to a resolution?


MR MILLER: Look, so Israel has – I know you were with us, and you heard the Secretary speak to this. Israel has achieved a number of really critically important strategic objectives. One of them, of course, has been to thoroughly degrade Hamas’s military capabilities to the point that they could no longer launch anything like the attacks that they launched a year ago. They still maintain a threat. They still can launch terrorist activities, but their military wing has been really degraded in its capacities.


And then bringing Yahya Sinwar to death was another significant objective, but we absolutely need to see all of the hostages brought home. We sometimes – we talk a lot about the hostage negotiations and the path to ending the war through hostage negotiations. Hamas should just release the hostages now. They never should have taken these hostages in the first place. They continue to hold civilians hostage. There is no justification for them to do that, and they should just release them.


But we will – but obviously, it seems an unlikely prospect given the fact they’ve held them for a year now, so we’re going to continue to try to bring them home. That is an important strategic objective for Israel, and it is an important strategic objective for the United States. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that there are seven Americans to continue to be held by Hamas.


Yeah, Leon.


QUESTION: Yeah, just to come back to the ceasefire – to the Egyptian proposal of the two-day ceasefire. Are you specifically in favor of that in considering the situation right now? Is that what is actually on the table that you’re negotiating with?


MR MILLER: So, I’m not – I don’t want to speak to any specific proposals from the podium. I don’t think it’s helpful to get into them publicly. We have long made clear, as a general matter, that we were open to other scenarios. And you know that we pursued pauses back in November to pause the conflict for a short period of time in exchange for a number of hostages being released. Those pauses expired when Hamas restarted the conflict.


So, we have always made clear that we are open to different types of arrangements, and we want to look at different types of arrangements and see if there are any possible. But ultimately, we have two major overriding goals here. One is to bring the hostages home, and the other is to end the war. And those are the two things we are trying to pursue in our negotiations and in our conversations with other officials in the region.


QUESTION: May I have a follow-up?


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: And it’s not related to the ceasefire.


MR MILLER: Sure.


QUESTION: The Knesset is examining a legislation that would ban UNRWA in work – that it be able to work in Israel and in East Jerusalem. What are your thoughts on that?


MR MILLER: So, we have made quite clear to the Government of Israel that we are deeply concerned by this proposed legislation. The Secretary raised this in the letter that he sent with Secretary of Defense – the Secretary of Defense to Minister of Defense Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Dermer a little over two weeks ago. As he made clear in that letter, the passage of this legislation could have implications under U.S. law and U.S. policy. That remains the case.


Look, UNRWA plays a critical, important role in delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians that need it in Gaza. That’s not the only role they play. They play an important role providing services to Palestinians in the West Bank and throughout the region as well. But they really play an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza, where they are on the front lines getting humanitarian assistance to the people that need it. There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis.


So, we continue to urge the Government of Israel to pause the implementation of this legislation. We urge them not to pass it at all. And we will consider next steps based on what happens in the days ahead.


QUESTION: Can I follow up?


MR MILLER: Let me stick up here first. Go ahead.


QUESTION: Thank you. So, an Iran and Iraq, a related question. Do you think holding a session in United Nations Security Council merits Iran’s complaining to the UN for – against Israel? And also, Iraq lodged a complaint. Do you think it’s a valid complaint that Israel violated its airspace?


MR MILLER: The Iraq – the complaint from – you said from Iraq, that —


QUESTION: First about Iran and then about —


MR MILLER: Yeah, yeah, about Iraq. Yeah. I meant the second part of the question. So, look, when it comes to the second part of the question, it’s not something that I’ll speak to from here. The U.S. did not participate in this attack in any way.


With respect to the first part of the question, look, our ambassador to the United Nations will speak to this at the United Nations Security Council later today. I would just make very clear that it is Iran that launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israel that put civilians in danger; that was incredibly reckless and that threatened to really escalate this conflict beyond control. Israel had a right to respond to that attack. And it did so in a way that was proportionate, and we believe that should be the end of the matter.


I’m going to – I’m going to skip to you just to – let’s say in the region before we come to you, Janne.


QUESTION: Yeah. On northern Gaza, Matt, I know last week it was said the Israeli Government told you guys they are instituting the so-called generals’ plan. But what is the U.S. assessment of whether Israel is intentionally carrying out a policy of starvation and displacement in northern Gaza?


MR MILLER: So, I’ll just say what the Secretary said. He raised this directly with the prime minister and other members of the Israeli Government. They said to us that they are not carrying out the so-called generals’ plan. I will just say that they should speak to what they’re carrying out. We would clearly reject any effort to create a siege, to starve civilians, to wall northern Gaza off from the rest of Gaza. We would fundamentally reject that in every way. And we’ve made clear to them that we want to see humanitarians – humanitarian assistance make it to civilians. We want to see civilians protected. And – as you know, the Secretary sent a letter to the Government of Israel several weeks ago, laying out a number of specific steps that we want to see them take to get humanitarian assistance to the hands of people that need it.


QUESTION: But the U.S. does not assess that this policy is being carried out in the north right now?


MR MILLER: So —


QUESTION: You do not have your own assessment here?


MR MILLER: I do – I do – I’m not going to make an assessment one way or the other. I’m going to tell you that the Government of Israel can speak for itself about what they’re trying to do. We are watching very closely. And we are making clear to them that they need to let – they need to let civilians get access to humanitarian assistance.


QUESTION: And you said there has been some progress but not enough. What progress have you actually seen in recent weeks, given that we have seen this catastrophic humanitarian situation only deepen?


MR MILLER: So, we have seen more trucks get into Gaza. One of the – one day last week there were something like 280 trucks that got into Gaza, which is obviously a significant expansion from the very low levels that we had been in September and earlier in October. We have seen some additional routes opened up for delivery of humanitarian assistance inside Gaza. We started to see them take some other steps, when it comes to dealing with the humanitarian agencies. But they have not been enough. They haven’t done all the things that we outlined in the letter.


The Secretary had a very detailed conversation with several Government of Israel officials last week about the kind of granular actions that that letter calls for them to take. And he was very clear that we expect you to take these actions. And we’re willing to engage in dialogue with you about how best to do that, and we have been engaging in dialogue with them about how best to do that, both through our embassy and through Lise Grande, our special representative, and we’ll continue to do that. But the bottom line ultimately is results, and we need to see better results than we see today.


QUESTION: And then last question. Do you have any specific comment on the Israeli military operations in the Kamal Adwan Hospital that we saw over the weekend?


MR MILLER: I don’t. I’ve seen the reports. Obviously, we don’t want – we want to see hospitals protected. But we do continue to see, without respect to this specific hospital because I don’t have an assessment to offer – we do continue to see Hamas hiding in civilian infrastructure, which is also something that’s unacceptable.


Yeah.


QUESTION: You said that you don’t want to make an assessment either way. But how long will it take you? When will you be able to make an assessment on this operation in northern Gaza? It’s been going on for about three weeks now. There’s reports of hundred thousand civilians marooned in these – in a few small areas, supplies unable to get in. I’m not sure if they can get out, but a lot of people probably don’t want to leave their homes because they – because they’re worried about not being able to go back in. So, what do you need to see to be able to say one way or the other whether the U.S. supports the conduct of this operation?


MR MILLER: Well, I will tell you quite clearly right now what we’re seeing is humanitarian assistance not getting into the people in Jabalia who need it, and we don’t accept that.


QUESTION: Right.


MR MILLER: So, if you ask about what we see on the ground, that’s one of our assessments, is that the food and water and medicine that needs to get people – to people in Jabalia, they aren’t getting it right now, and we want to see that change.


QUESTION: All right. And that means, based on what’s in the letter, one of the key points of the letter from a few weeks ago is end the isolation of northern Gaza. Right?


MR MILLER: Right.


QUESTION: So, what you seem to be saying right now is as of now, which is – we’re a couple of weeks into a 30-day deadline. Israel is not meeting the U.S. conditions that were put out – set out in that letter.


MR MILLER: So, without getting into any one of the conditions – obviously, at this point they’re not meeting all of the conditions of the letter. We made clear there were some things that need to change immediately, other things that would take more time. They have not fully implemented all of the changes that we called for in that letter, and we’re going to wait until the – before we offer a final assessment, we’re going to wait till the expiration of the 30 days. It’s obviously fair to do that. But we want to see them continue to make changes along the way.


QUESTION: And I know you’ve been asked this before, but so if it does show – turn out that they haven’t met these conditions, which it’s not just this kind of passive element of there being bureaucratic hurdles, aid not getting in – this is an active operation that’s taking place that’s causing the conditions that you’re talking about. What is the – what is the leverage here? What is the threat?


MR MILLER: So, the letter mentioned that there are various U.S. laws and policies that are implicated by a failure to allow humanitarian assistance to get people – to people who need it, and I think I’ll leave it at that.


Yeah, Hiba, go ahead.


QUESTION: Yes, Matt. Last Friday the Israeli targeted a compound where the journalists used to sleep in northern – in southern Lebanon, Hasbaya. It’s – it was very known that it was – they were hosting journalists, only journalists. It was 4:00 a.m., in the morning, and the journalists were asleep. I asked the State Department, and I had a general response. How are you approaching that, and that you are urging the Israeli to enable free and independent press? But can you please speak: Do you support these kinds of strikes?


MR MILLER: We do not support strikes on journalists. Absolutely not.


QUESTION: Okay. My second question – did you raise that with the Israeli?


MR MILLER: So, we were in Israel before Friday, so obviously we couldn’t have raised with some – raised with them on Wednesday something that happened on Friday. Whether we’ve discussed this specific strike since then I’ll have to take back and check.


QUESTION: Thank you. And one more question on the talks with the Lebanese leaders because you usually – you used to say when it comes to Gaza, for example, the onus is on Hamas or on Israel. When it comes to Lebanon, where things are stopping? Who is the obstacle?


MR MILLER: So, we did have a number of important conversations with partners in the region last week over the course of the Secretary’s trip. Incredibly relevant to this is the conversation he had with the prime minister of Lebanon on Friday, where we discussed the fact that we want to see full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. And what we mean by full implementation, we don’t want to go back to where we were before October 7th – and not just the year before October 7th, which is with a number of – for a number of years before October 7th, where you had Hizballah ignoring the obligations imposed on it by that Security Council resolution, obligations with which Hizballah said it would comply: to put down its arms and withdraw north of the Litani River.


So, what we have been in conversation with the Government of Lebanon and other partners in the region is how we can see 1701 actually enforced, and how we can see it monitored and how we can see it enforced, in a way that means Hizballah actually does not pose a threat to the – to civilians in northern Israel. Those are the conversations that we have been having over the course of the last week and obviously predating the Secretary’s trip as well.


QUESTION: Thank you.


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: Different topic, different region.


MR MILLER: Sure, go ahead. I’m sure we have some people to come back to on this but go ahead.


QUESTION: Thanks. So, over the weekend and on Friday, there was reporting that Chinese hackers had successfully targeted the phones of U.S. politicians – President Trump, vice presidential nominee Vance, but also Senator Schumer and Vice President Harris staffers. I know this is an interagency thing. But from the State perspective, has there been any conversations with PRC counterparts about this? And bigger picture, what does this say about deterrence efforts for election meddling?


MR MILLER: So, when it comes to this specific incident, I’m going to defer to my colleagues in the Intelligence Community and in law enforcement to speak to it. That’s obviously appropriate for them to be the ones to comment on any specific incident. I will tell you, when it comes to Chinese hacking and Chinese interference in our election, the Secretary has made quite clear, as recently as September when he met Wang Yi on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, that any attempt to interfere in our election is something that the United States would take with the utmost seriousness.


Yeah.


QUESTION: Going back to the Jabalia Hospital incident.


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: Hospitals are protected under international law. Is it permissible under international law, even if Hamas is using these sites, to raid them, to attack them? And why wouldn’t that trigger a U.S. red line where the U.S. would withdraw aid to Israel?


MR MILLER: So, I’m not able to get into the full complexities of international law from here. I’m not an attorney. But it is a simple fact of law that hospitals do, in some circumstances, lose their protected status when they are being used to launch military attacks. That’s just a fact of international law that has been true for some time. It’s not an assessment with regard to this operation or any other which I obviously can’t do from here. What we have made clear is that we want to see humanitarian sites protected – that includes hospitals; it includes schools; it includes other facilities – but we continue to see, as we have seen from the beginning of this conflict, Hamas embedding its fighters inside humanitarian sites, Hamas firing at Israeli soldiers from inside humanitarian sites, and that’s an acceptable practice that puts the people of Gaza at risk.


QUESTION: And if I could follow up, is it fair to say that the U.S. election is impacting the timing of a potential ceasefire there because the parties won’t necessarily know who they’ll be dealing with?


MR MILLER: I cannot speak for any other party than the United States, and I can tell you that it has no bearing at all on our focus on trying to bring an end to the war.


Tom.


QUESTION: Just to follow up on the – on Jabalia and this idea of the generals’ plan, as it’s reported. I mean, you said just now you’re not assessing one or the other, it’s up to the Israeli Government to speak to it. But you then said you’re not seeing supplies go in, basically, which – and that is an absolutely fundamental part of this entire idea is a siege, as it’s been presented, and that would make it sound like there is a siege. So, you are making an assessment.


MR MILLER: No, I’m telling you we’re not seeing food and water and medicine get in to people who need it there, and we want to see that change.


QUESTION: And if I could follow up. I mean, I asked the Secretary this directly and it was – I mean, part of the question was answered in that – and you said again you reject fundamentally that the generals’ plan —


MR MILLER: Was this in – was this in Doha?


QUESTION: This was in Doha.


MR MILLER: Yeah. (Laughter.)


QUESTION: Yeah. I try and be a bit more concise. I mean, that plan, as it’s presented, clearly would involve war crimes. So, a question is, again: if Israeli soldiers are being instructed to carry out any part of this plan, should they refuse?


MR MILLER: I’m not going to get into a hypothetical. The Government of Israel has said that it’s not their plan. Obviously, if any – if any soldier of – in Israel or any other country is instructed to carry out a war crime, they should refuse to implement it.


QUESTION: I’d asked the question – I mean, Eran Etzion, who is the former deputy head of the National Security Council of Israel – served under four prime ministers – has said that they may be committing war crimes, and if they’re instructed to do so, they simply must refuse in this specific case – I mean, you’ve talked generally, but in this specific case.


MR MILLER: Again, anyone that’s instructed to carry out a war crime should refuse to do that. I think that’s a fairly inarguable statement. When it comes to the specific plan, the Government of Israel has said that that’s not their policy, and you should take any – further questions about that up with them.


Let me try to stay in the region, and then we’ll come back to others in the front. Go ahead.


QUESTION: Okay. Thank you, Matt.


MR MILLER: I meant (inaudible), but that’s okay.


QUESTION: According to an AP report last Thursday, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced at the Paris Conference for Lebanon of 1 billion in pledges for humanitarian and military support to Lebanon. My question to you is with Hizballah integrating – integrated into Lebanon’s government and perhaps the military, and with Lebanon’s military unwilling to remove or stop Hizballah, what measures are the State Department taking to ensure there are appropriate safeguards to prevent this 1 billion, all apart, from benefiting Hizballah? And a follow-up.


MR MILLER: So, I would say, first of all, I think the question unfairly implicates a number of actors inside Lebanon who are just as opposed to Hizballah’s influence in the country and are just as opposed to Hizballah’s crimes and human rights abuses inside Lebanon as the Government of the United States is.


QUESTION: Okay.


MR MILLER: And the Government of the United States, along with other countries continues, to support humanitarian assistance to the people of Lebanon who have done nothing wrong, who have done nothing to bring this conflict upon them. And we continue to support important institutions in Lebanon, like the Lebanese Armed Forces, which we actually believe can be a bulwark for stability against Hizballah’s terrorism and other crimes.


QUESTION: Okay. In a State Department report October 25th of this year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced from Doha, Qatar 135 million more in assistance to the Palestinians. My question to you is: In light of concerns that this money may be misappropriated for terrorism, what exactly will this money be used for while Hamas is unchecked by the Palestinian Authority —


MR MILLER: So —


QUESTION: — in Judea and Samaria, and why isn’t the State Department demanding Abbas’s – Abbas forces’ arrest and disarm Hamas, especially Palestinian Islamic Jihad and his own pay-to-play program?


MR MILLER: So let me just take the first part of the question. The money that the Secretary announced is being spent through the World Health Organization and through UNICEF, an organization that exists to provide humanitarian assistance to children. So, the suggestion that money spent through the World Health Organization and UNICEF is somehow being used to further terrorism, I think, is belied by decades of history.


QUESTION: Okay. Why isn’t the State Department demanding Abbas’s force —


MR MILLER: Go ahead. I’m going to go ahead behind – behind you. I’m going to – let me just move on to one more. Go ahead. Behind you.


QUESTION: Thank you. Going back to this proposed bill to ban UNRWA, what do you think about this whole – direction of this whole Israel-versus-UN situation going – like Israel attacking UNIFIL in Lebanon, Israel wanting to – discussing to ban UNRWA in Gaza, and also Israel – and now it’s Israeli foreign minister multiple times criticizing UN secretary-general for asking ceasefire or uninterrupted humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza, which is repeatedly asked by U.S. as well?


MR MILLER: Look, I think in a number of important ways, the relationship between Israel and the United Nations is not one that’s productive and is not one that serves the citizens of Israel well. It certainly doesn’t serve the Palestinian people well. And so, in a number of different contexts, we have urged the Government of Israel to work more cooperatively with the United Nations, particularly to work more cooperatively with the United Nations humanitarian organizations that are delivering humanitarian assistance to people inside Gaza. And we’ll continue to make that clear to them that that ought to be the case.


QUESTION: And – I don’t know, is that something that you would confirm to us, but U.S. ambassador to Israel being – there were reports about that, that he was being in touch with Israel opposition leaders about this legislation not to move forward, so that Israeli MPs who were actually backing that bill kind of felt under pressure by so-called U.S. interference. Could you —


MR MILLER: So, I’m not going to speak to particular conversations with the Government of Israel, but we made quite clear in a letter from the Secretary from himself and from this podium that we are opposed to the implementation of the that legislation and that there could be consequences under U.S. law and U.S. policy for the implementation of that legislation. So, I don’t think we could have been any more clear about our position when it comes to this bill.


QUESTION: Thank you.


MR MILLER: All right, Janne, go ahead.


QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. On Russia and North Korea, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that there would be a miserable price to pay if South Korea provide weapons to Ukraine and interfered with the dispatch of North Korean troops. Meanwhile, North Korean Kim Jong – Kim Yo-jong threatened that if the U.S. and South Korea joint military exercises put pressure on them, an uncontrollable situation would arise on the Korean Peninsula and that the U.S. would be responsible for it. How will you react to (inaudible)?


MR MILLER: I would say that, as usual, Russia should stop making provocative statements against its neighbors and others in the region.


QUESTION: And one more. The Russian house of representatives ratified Russia and North Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty. This treaty allow mutual military assistance between Russia and North Korea. How do you assess the legitimacy of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia in the future?


MR MILLER: We continue to be greatly concerned about the growing security partnership between Russia and North Korea?


QUESTION: You have anything upgrade about the information on the North Korean troops – 5,000 troops headed to Kursk?


MR MILLER: So, we believe that Russia – I’m sorry, we believe that North Korea has sent around 10,000 total soldiers to train in eastern Russia. That will probably augment Russian forces near Ukraine. Over the past several weeks, we have already seen a portion of those soldiers move closer to Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk near the border with Ukraine.


QUESTION: How close have they moved?


MR MILLER: I don’t have any further assessment to offer from here today. As you know, when —


QUESTION: Okay, well, I mean —


MR MILLER: As —


QUESTION: Russia is a pretty large land area.


MR MILLER: Indeed.


QUESTION: So, moving from Vladivostok to Yekaterinburg is not necessarily getting close to Ukraine. It is closer to the west of Russia, but —


MR MILLER: As you know, when – when we declassify intelligence information and make it public, we oftentimes are extremely limited in what we can say about that declassification, and that’s the assessment I can offer today. But we are watching it very closely, and when we see further movements and have further updates to offer, we will certainly make those public.


QUESTION: All right, well – but they’re not – they’re not in Kursk.


MR MILLER: I don’t have any further assessment to offer today.


QUESTION: All right, well, can you be at least, like – are they halfway there?


MR MILLER: (Laughter.) I’m not going to do a percentage, Matt. Sorry.


QUESTION: Well, I mean, a mile? Are they a mile away from where they – where they started? Or are they —


MR MILLER: A good bit – a good bit more than a mile. (Laughter.)


QUESTION: All right.


QUESTION: Follow-up on North Korea —


MR MILLER: Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Nike. Go ahead.


QUESTION: So just to clarify, you mentioned 10,000 troops. Are they in Kursk or – the Kursk region or another region? And then can – is that your U.S. assessment that those North Korean troops were deployed to fight for Russia’s war in Ukraine and not just for training purposes?


MR MILLER: So, I don’t have anything further to say than what I said a minute ago. We have seen 10,000 troops move to eastern Ukraine. Some portion of those 10,000 – I’m not


QUESTION: Eastern Ukraine?


MR MILLER: I’m sorry. Excuse me. Thank you for the correction. We have seen – we have seen around 10,000 total North Korean troops move to eastern Russia. We have over the last few days seen a portion of those 10,000 groups move west, closer to Ukraine, near to Ukraine. In terms of an assessment, we’re concerned that they intend to use them to fight or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk.


QUESTION: And can you talk about the consultation and coordination with your South Korean counterparts and what will be the high agendas on the 2+2 meetings on Thursday?


MR MILLER: So obviously we have a number of matters we want to talk about with our South Korean counterparts when their foreign minister and their defense minister are here. North Korea – North Korea’s expanding relationship with Russia, including this deployment of troops to Russia, will be one of the things, as will a variety of other provocative actions by North Korea over the past few months, as well as our broader commitment to a – to Indo-Pacific security. And we’ll have – obviously have more to say as we get closer and at the conclusion of that ministerial.


QUESTION: Finally, Kirby recently mentioned that the U.S. will communicate with China or Chinese officials on their take about the deepening ties between North Korea and Russia. What is – do you have any diplomatic communication between U.S. and China on this matter? And then what is their take?


MR MILLER: Yeah, we have. We have communicated with the PRC about this matter to make clear that we are concerned about it, and that they ought to be concerned about this destabilizing action by two – by two of its neighbors, Russia and North Korea. I’ll let them speak for themselves, but we have made – been making clear to China for some time that they have an influential voice in the region. And they should be concerned about steps that Russia has taken to undermine stability. They should be concerned about steps that North Korea has taken to undermine stability and security. And we’ll continue to make that clear to them.


Yeah, Alex.


QUESTION: Thanks, Matt. On this topic, you finally came to the conclusion where Ukraine has been two weeks ago. Does this require any joint action? Have you – have you been consulting with the Ukrainians —


MR MILLER: We have been consulting with the Ukrainians, we have been consulting with our allies and partners about appropriate next steps, and I’ll keep those conversations private.


QUESTION: But right now, you are not at the level where you – it requires action from you, not just reaction? Is that —


MR MILLER: So, we are consulting with our partners. I’m not going to speak to reactions publicly.


QUESTION: Thank you. Want to go back to Georgia, if I may. You called on Georgian officials to investigate the violations, but we have the president – last democratically elected official in the country – who said that it’s illegitimate and it’s part of the Russian operation. Is there any reason to why this is not reflected in your and the Secretary’s statement yesterday?


MR MILLER: So, we made clear that we want to see an investigation. And to be clear, Alex, I didn’t specify that – in my statement that it should be Georgian officials that should conduct that investigation. We are consulting with our European partners about what an appropriate body to conduct such an investigation might be.


QUESTION: But you don’t expect GD, which actually is – rigged – accused of rigging the elections, you don’t expect them to investigate —


MR MILLER: As you – you just heard my answer to this question, Alex, which is we are consulting with our partners about what an appropriate other body to conduct an investigation might be.


QUESTION: And are you considering any punitive action?


MR MILLER: I’m not going to get beyond what I said in my opening statement, which is – always, Georgia’s actions will determine our responses. We have had our relationship with Georgia under review for some months now. You have seen us already suspend $95 billion in – excuse me, $95 million in assistance to the Government of Georgia. We have other assistance that remains under review.


QUESTION: And final one, just – right as we speak there are tens of thousands of people in Tbilisi outside. They’re protesting. They believe that they have been abandoned by the United States. Do you have any message to them?


MR MILLER: So, we obviously support everyone’s right to peacefully protest, and we urge authorities to fully respect Georgians’ right to peacefully assemble. And we want to see a full investigation of the alleged irregularities in the election.


QUESTION: Thank you.


QUESTION: May I have a follow-up?


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: On Georgia? In the statement from the Secretary last night, and yours is today, one word is not there: Russia. Do you consider that they interfered in the election in Georgia?


MR MILLER: I don’t have an assessment to offer at this point. Now, look, we saw – even outside the claims of Russian interference, we saw the ruling party take steps that would restrict Georgians’ right to participate in a fully free and fair election. We saw vote-buying, we saw crackdowns, and – now, of course, that’s a separate question from Russian interference. I will say that we have seen Russia interfere with a number of its neighbors’ elections over the past several years. We’ve seen them interfere in our own election. We continue to be vigorous in watching, but I don’t have an assessment to offer with respect to this election that was just conducted over the —


QUESTION: So, you don’t want to go as far as to say that —


MR MILLER: I don’t have any further assessment to offer that question today.


QUESTION: On Georgia.


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to Viktor Orbán going to Georgia immediately after these elections?


MR MILLER: I don’t. I don’t.


Yeah.


QUESTION: Over to Russia. There are reports that the U.S. soldier detained in the country, Gordon Black, met with a U.S. delegation recently. Can you confirm or deny that? And if they did meet, was there any additional consideration given to whether he should be considered wrongfully detained?


MR MILLER: I can’t confirm that. Let me take that back and get you a response. And when it comes to a wrongful detention determination, nothing further I can speak to.


QUESTION: Also on Russia, there was a report in TASS today that the Russians extracted what they called a U.S. asset from Donetsk, an American who they say was working with them there. Do you have any information?


MR MILLER: I don’t. We saw those reports, we’re looking into them, but I don’t have any further information.


QUESTION: Thanks.


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: Thank you so much, Matt. Reports suggest 252 police sub-inspector in Bangladesh were dismissed from final recruitment, allegedly excluding all Hindu officers. Does the State Department have any response regarding the religious discrimination in Bangladesh law enforcement hiring process?


MR MILLER: So, I haven’t seen that report, but obviously we believe that the – well, let me say obviously we would oppose any religious discrimination in any process in Bangladesh or anywhere in the world.


QUESTION: How the State Department working with Bangladesh authority to support inclusive and non-discriminatory hiring practice in public service in Bangladesh?


MR MILLER: I don’t have anything to add to what I just said.


QUESTION: Would such cases of alleged discrimination impact U.S.-Bangladesh relationship?


MR MILLER: So, you’re asking me to deal with a hypothetical about a report that I have not seen, and I’m going to decline to do so.


QUESTION: Thank you so much. In light of recent report that the Bangladesh police are using the Anti-Terrorism Act to arrest individuals associated with the student league, Chhatra League, for participating in demonstration – they recently banned these organizations – how does the U.S. view the impact of these actions on democratic freedom and political expression in Bangladesh? What steps might the U.S. consider to support fair political process and civil liberties in the country?


MR MILLER: We believe that the people of Bangladesh should be able to exercise their fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression, the freedom of assembly. We believe that is the case no matter who the ruling party is in Bangladesh, and we have made that clear a number of times from this podium as well in our bilateral engagements.


QUESTION: And thank you. Lastly —


MR MILLER: But, wait, I’m just —


QUESTION: I just want to —


MR MILLER: Because we’re running short and you’ve had three, I’m going to move on.


QUESTION: Thank you. (Laughter.)


QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. A couple of questions. Bangladesh’s foreign secretary visited U.S. in the last week of this month. He had exchange with the Deputy Secretary Verma, Under Secretary John Bass, and the Assistant Secretary Donald Lu, also NSC and the global anti-corruption commission. Do you have any insight to share about these important meetings and how you are reassessing relationship with Bangladesh?


MR MILLER: I don’t have any further readouts to offer.


QUESTION: And one more on – according to Financial Times, the Bangladesh central bank governor has accused tycoons linked to the former administration of Sheikh Hasina of siphoning 17 billion from the banking sector during her rule. This is being called the largest bank robbery case in the history. How can you help recover this money and hold those responsible accountable for a global perspectives?


And by the way, today is my last day in this briefing room as I – the Bangladesh interim government offered an ambassador role and I accepted it, and after the paperwork the foreign ministry will post me in somewhere. So, I am thankful to you and all of my colleagues during my last 10 years’ journey in this briefing room as correspondent. Thank you.


MR MILLER: Thank you. And with respect to the question, I can’t speak to the veracity of that report let alone what any implications of it might be. But congratulations.


Go ahead.


QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you, Matt. Last week more than 60 member of Congress sent a letter to President Biden urging him to secure some guarantees from Pakistani Government for the safety of Imran Khan in prison. Do you have any position on that letter?


MR MILLER: Only that we’ve received it and will respond in due course to the members.


QUESTION: After – the day after this letter, the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy and Human Rights Monica Jacobsen met with the federal secretary of Pakistan on human rights, Allah Dino Khowajalad, in Islamabad to discuss human rights. And I don’t know if it’s a consequence of what; next day after that meeting Imran Khan’s sisters and his wife were released from the prison. And Imran Khan supporters claim that it is because of Biden administration. Did this administration play any role in the release of political prisoners in Pakistan?


MR MILLER: So, all I will say about that is that the deputy assistant secretary in that meeting emphasized the important role of human rights, support for a vibrant civil society, and strong democratic institutions play in our comprehensive U.S.-Pakistan relationship.


QUESTION: But no role played?


MR MILLER: I’m not going to —


QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. On Iraq, per an agreement with Washington, Iraqi airspace is protected by the United States. So, while Iraq is filing an official letter of complaint to the United Nations Security Council for breaching its airspace, do you take Iraq’s concern to consideration?


MR MILLER: So, first of all, I’d say that that’s not an accurate representation of the system. Iraq is a sovereign country. It controls its own airspace. The United States does not control Iraqi airspace. The U.S. Strategic Framework Agreement outlines our bilateral relationship with the Government of Iraq, and it does not address any questions of airspace, which are left to the Government of Iraq to determine.


QUESTION: And lastly, did your force in Iraq and Kurdistan Region have any role whether for logistics or for consultation?


MR MILLER: The U.S. did not participate in this attack.


QUESTION: Okay.


MR MILLER: Go ahead.


QUESTION: Thank you, Matt.


MR MILLER: Next. Sorry, sorry. No, go ahead.


QUESTION: Try and get back in the Middle East for a couple minutes. You mentioned Hamas trying to regroup in Gaza, establish its leadership. I mean, its head sits in Qatar, Khaled Mashal. Is there no pressure being brought to bear on Qatar, as a major U.S. ally to push Mashal into a deal?


MR MILLER: Let me tell you about our conversations with the Government of Qatar because we had one just last week on Thursday, Wednesday – it was Thursday – in Doha, where the Secretary met with the amir and the Secretary met with the prime minister, who has been a lead mediator in trying to get a deal to bring home the hostages and end the war over the finish line.


What we have seen from the Government of Qatar since the immediate aftermath of October 7th is an intense focus on doing everything it can to reach an agreement that would get the hostages home, and ultimately end the war. And it continued to stay incredibly focused on that, and the prime minister especially has spent hours and hours and hours, tireless efforts trying to get that deal over the line, and we appreciate them continuing to do that.


They have a channel with Hamas that is productive for trying to reach this agreement. The fact is it’s Hamas that holds the hostages, and so it’s Hamas with whom they have to negotiate, and I can tell you the role that the Government of Qatar has played is one that we have found extremely appropriate and extremely helpful to the situation.


QUESTION: But if someone’s sitting in your home, doesn’t it make it easier, or at least give you more leverage, to negotiate with them?


MR MILLER: So, we have made clear that they – that that is an important channel that exists to communicate with Hamas, to try to get these hostages home. But as you heard the Secretary say in the immediate aftermath, there can be no more business as usual with Hamas. But it is important that this channel continue to exist, because we have hostages – including American hostages, seven American hostages – who remain in Gaza that we want to try to get home.


QUESTION: Last question on UNRWA; I’m just trying to gain some clarity. The Biden administration, when it learned of the allegations against the UNRWA staffers, cut off funding. It never resumed it. It may have – you can maybe clarify that – but it never did. Then Congress, by huge bipartisan margin, cut off funding through at least March of next year. So, you have two branches of the U.S. Government who determine that UNRWA was not credible enough, trustworthy enough to continue to receive funding because of the allegations against it. How do you now pressure the Israeli Government to facilitate UNRWA’s work, when the U.S. Government in two branches doesn’t really trust it?


MR MILLER: So that’s – that’s not exactly what we determined. We determined that we needed to suspend funding while an investigation was underway to look into those allegations. And while that investigation was ongoing, Congress acted to block further funding. You have seen us in recent months come forward and say we want to see that ban on funding be lifted, and we want the ability to continue to fund UNRWA precisely because of the important work it does.


Now, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t important reforms that UNRWA needs to undertake; we believe there are. We believe that the Government of Israel should supply UNRWA with the information it alleges to hold against UNRWA employees. We’ve seen UNRWA launch investigations under its own regard to look at allegations against employees and gather information, but as far as we’re aware to this date the Government of Israel hasn’t supplied any evidence to UNRWA, which they should. If they have allegations and they want UNRWA to take action, they should supply the evidence. I think that’s a fairly obvious thing to do if they want UNRWA to take action in the way that any organization should take action if any of its employees are involved in a terrorist attack.


All that to be said, there is an important role that UNRWA plays that no one else on the ground can play right now. And if UNRWA goes away, you will see civilians – including children, including babies – not be able to get access to food and water and medicine that they need to live, and we find that, frankly, unacceptable.


QUESTION: Thank you.


MR MILLER: Rabia.


QUESTION: Just a quick question on Lebanon. Israeli air strikes today hit historic city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, with footage of it going viral. Have you seen the video? And I wondered if you had any reaction.


MR MILLER: I have only seen the video; I can’t offer any type of assessment on it. I don’t know any of the underlying circumstances.


QUESTION: But have you seen the destruction? I mean, is that acceptable for you?


MR MILLER: So, I can’t speak to the underlying circumstances of that attack, what it is that they were targeting. I’m happy to, as we get more information over the coming days, speak to it, but I’m not in a position to do so today.


In the back. Yeah. In the almost back, I should say.


QUESTION: Yeah.


MR MILLER: Next-to-last row.


QUESTION: Yesterday, Japan’s ruling parties – the LDP and Komeito – lost the majority in parliament for the first time in 15 years. Now the future of Prime Minister Ishiba’s government is uncertain. Do you have any comment on this?


MR MILLER: So, the U.S.-Japan alliance has been the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and across the world for over seven decades. It has never been stronger, and I do not see that changing because of the outcome of any election either in the United States or in Japan. And so, we look forward to continuing our work with the Government of Japan, a steadfast ally of ours, across our broad agenda of regional and global issues, including regional stability, our defense alliance, and U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral relations.


QUESTION: Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Matt. A great U.S. POW, well respected Vietnam war POW, Mr. James Bond Stockdale, also ran for the U.S. presidential elections. He was my teacher for ethics. This question is regarding – dedicated to him. So, elections are in the swing. Yesterday the —


MR MILLER: I don’t think I’ve ever heard a question dedicated to someone before. (Laughter.) But go —


QUESTION: Well, it’s your last —


MR MILLER: Go ahead.


QUESTION: It’s your last week before the election, so I want to make it a little more fun for you.


MR MILLER: Okay. Do I have to dedicate my answer to somebody? (Laughter.)


QUESTION: Make —


MR MILLER: This answer is dedicated to Matt Lee. (Laughter.)


QUESTION: Actually, I was dedicating it to him too.


MR MILLER: Fair enough.


QUESTION: So yesterday in Michigan state, a poll was conducted where 60 percent of the Muslims are voting for President Trump. For last many decades’ U.S. elections, Muslim population have mostly voted for Democrats. Is it – would you say it is because of the poor policies, especially with regard to Gaza, that the Muslim population is going to play a —


MR MILLER: So let me just – let me just stop you there.


QUESTION: Okay.


MR MILLER: I’m not going to dedicate the answer to anyone, because it’s not a question I can answer. I think you well know —


QUESTION: You are proud of your Gaza policy?


MR MILLER: I think you well know when it comes to U.S. elections, and what happens in U.S. elections, that is not something that we ever comment to from the State Department.


QUESTION: Okay, just one more question. Your donut answer was very popular in Pakistan; millions of people viewed that answer of yours about the donuts. So, two days ago in front of the supreme court, there was a monument constructed with the former chief justice, regarding whom the donut question was dedicated to, was built. Now, that monument is being called as a graveyard by several leading journalists in Pakistan. Some of them are calling the monuments as human rights graveyard, some of them journalist graveyard, some of them parliamentarian graveyard. And they are wondering if you would be willing to create something in honor of Justice Ruth, who was a Supreme Court judge of the U.S., in whose memory buildings are painted. Would you dedicate a donut monument in that graveyard just to raise and —


MR MILLER: I think we have escaped the grasp of reality here, and I don’t know – (laughter) – how to bring us back with an answer that is any way in my bailiwick as the State Department spokesperson.


QUESTION: But, basically, what I’m trying is – all the – all the pillars of Pakistan has been ruined, destroyed in the last two years while you have been the spokesman, but some of the questions have gotten really great attention, and donut was one of that —


MR MILLER: Yeah. I try to – I try to give serious policy answers, not be an engagement factory.


QUESTION: Thank you.


MR MILLER: If you have one more, we’ll take it. If not, I’ll wrap.


QUESTION: Yes, please. My last one is about this Baloch very popular activist in Pakistan and the Baloch senators who were kidnapped and coerced into voting. So, Ms. Mahrang Baloch has said that the way Mr. Akhtar Mengal and the BNP senators were treated and coerced into voting for the 26th constitutional amendment, and are now being frame into fake police cases, clearly shows that there is no space for parliamentary politics of peaceful activism in Pakistan. Just if you can say anything about that —


MR MILLER: So, we want to see democracy upheld in Pakistan, including everyone’s fundamental right to participate in democracy and exercise their fundamental human freedoms.


And with that, that —


QUESTION: I’ve got one more.


MR MILLER: Yeah.


QUESTION: Tomorrow, as you may know, is the annual vote in the UN General Assembly condemning the U.S. embargo on Cuba. You were aware of that?


MR MILLER: I was not tracking this on my bingo card, so go right ahead.


QUESTION: I’m just wondering how the U.S. is going to vote this year.


MR MILLER: I doubt we’ll be voting to condemn ourselves, so —


QUESTION: Well, you abstained one year. The last year of Obama’s presidency, you guys abstained on it and it caused a bit of a ripple. But as you probably know, it’s basically the entire world votes to condemn it, and you and Israel – and in some cases, Palau or another Pacific Island nation joins in voting against. This year it’s most likely just going to be U.S. and Israel. So do you have anything to say about this —


MR MILLER: I don’t —


QUESTION: — yearly display of isolation on the international stage —


MR MILLER: I don’t.


QUESTION: — at least in terms of this one policy?


MR MILLER: I’m sure I will tomorrow – I’m sure I will tomorrow if the vote takes place, but no, not today. So —


QUESTION: Yeah? Okay. Thank you.


MR MILLER: Thanks, everyone.


QUESTION: Thank you.


(The briefing was concluded at 3:08 p.m.)



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Bangladesh China Egypt Georgia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Lebanon North Korea Office of the Spokesperson Pakistan Palestinian Territories Qatar Russia South Korea Ukraine


Türkiye National Day
10/29/2024


Türkiye National Day
10/29/2024 12:02 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
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Türkiye National Day


Press Statement





October 29, 2024



On behalf of the United States of America, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the people of Türkiye as you celebrate the 101st anniversary of the founding of your Republic. This day marks a significant milestone in your nation’s history, and we join you in honoring the progress of the Turkish people over the past century.


Over the course of 101 years, the friendship between our nations has grown deeper and stronger, underpinned by our shared values and mutual interests. The NATO Alliance forms the cornerstone of regional peace and security, and the United States is proud Türkiye has been a NATO Ally for 72 years.


The numbers of students, professionals, cultural and academic exchange participants, and tourist visitors traveling between our countries continue to grow, allowing us to learn, innovate, and lead together. Our partnerships in science, space, and clean energy technology further deepen the ties between our two peoples.


On this historic occasion, we celebrate the founding of the Republic of Türkiye with you and look forward to another century of friendship and alliance that benefits our peoples, the region, and the world. Thank you for being a steadfast ally and partner. My sincerest wishes to you and the people of Türkiye for continued peace, prosperity, and success.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Office of the Spokesperson The Secretary of State Turkey


Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Ukrainian Presidential Administration Head Yermak
10/29/2024


Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Ukrainian Presidential Administration Head Yermak
10/29/2024 06:29 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Ukrainian Presidential Administration Head Yermak
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Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Ukrainian Presidential Administration Head Yermak


Readout





October 29, 2024



The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:


Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Ukrainian Presidential Administration Head Andriy Yermak today in Washington, DC. They discussed U.S. military and economic assistance and ongoing diplomatic efforts in support of Ukraine upcoming diplomatic events, including conferences supporting Ukraine’s Peace Formula. The Secretary reiterated the United States’ enduring support for Ukraine’s sovereignty amid its fight against Russia’s brutal war of aggression and support for a just and lasting peace on the basis of the United Nations Charter.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Office of the Spokesperson The Secretary of State Ukraine


Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
10/30/2024

Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
10/30/2024 10:44 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
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Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine


Press Statement





October 30, 2024



Building on the unprecedented measures we have already imposed in coordination with our allies and partners, the United States is today imposing sanctions on nearly 400 entities and individuals for enabling Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. This action targets multiple sectors essential to Russia’s war effort.


As part of today’s actions, the Department of State is targeting sanctions circumvention by parties in multiple third countries, several senior Russian Ministry of Defense officials and defense companies, and those that support the development of Russia’s future energy production and exports. We are imposing sanctions on several PRC-based companies exporting dual-use goods that fill critical gaps in Russia’s military-industrial base as well as entities and individuals connected to the Lukashenka regime’s support for Russia’s defense industry.


The Department of the Treasury is also targeting third-country sanctions evasion networks that support Russia’s war machine, as well as domestic Russian importers and producers of key inputs for the country’s military-industrial base. Finally, the Department of Commerce is adding 40 entities to its Entity List and expanding controls on nearly 50 additional entities to combat diversion of sensitive items to Russia. Commerce is also restricting exports of additional precursor chemicals to Russia and Belarus to combat Russia’s use of riot control agents and other chemicals on the battlefield in Ukraine.


We will continue to use all available tools to disrupt networks of support for Russia’s military-industrial base wherever they may operate. We stand in solidarity with Ukrainians in defending their homeland from Russia’s aggression.


The Department of State and Department of the Treasury sanctions actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 14024, “Blocking Property With Respect To Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation.” For more information on today’s actions, please see the Department of State’s fact sheet, the Department of the Treasury’s press release, and the Department of Commerce’s press release.



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Economic Affairs Office of the Spokesperson Russia Sanctions Ukraine


Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
10/30/2024



Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
10/30/2024 10:44 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
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Sanctioning Third-Country Enablers of Russia’s War Against Ukraine


Press Statement





October 30, 2024



Building on the unprecedented measures we have already imposed in coordination with our allies and partners, the United States is today imposing sanctions on nearly 400 entities and individuals for enabling Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. This action targets multiple sectors essential to Russia’s war effort.


As part of today’s actions, the Department of State is targeting sanctions circumvention by parties in multiple third countries, several senior Russian Ministry of Defense officials and defense companies, and those that support the development of Russia’s future energy production and exports. We are imposing sanctions on several PRC-based companies exporting dual-use goods that fill critical gaps in Russia’s military-industrial base as well as entities and individuals connected to the Lukashenka regime’s support for Russia’s defense industry.


The Department of the Treasury is also targeting third-country sanctions evasion networks that support Russia’s war machine, as well as domestic Russian importers and producers of key inputs for the country’s military-industrial base. Finally, the Department of Commerce is adding 40 entities to its Entity List and expanding controls on nearly 50 additional entities to combat diversion of sensitive items to Russia. Commerce is also restricting exports of additional precursor chemicals to Russia and Belarus to combat Russia’s use of riot control agents and other chemicals on the battlefield in Ukraine.


We will continue to use all available tools to disrupt networks of support for Russia’s military-industrial base wherever they may operate. We stand in solidarity with Ukrainians in defending their homeland from Russia’s aggression.


The Department of State and Department of the Treasury sanctions actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 14024, “Blocking Property With Respect To Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation.” For more information on today’s actions, please see the Department of State’s fact sheet, the Department of the Treasury’s press release, and the Department of Commerce’s press release.



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Economic Affairs Office of the Spokesperson Russia Sanctions Ukraine


New Measures Targeting Third-Country Enablers Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base
10/30/2024


New Measures Targeting Third-Country Enablers Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base
10/30/2024 10:51 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…New Measures Targeting Third-Country Enablers Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base
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New Measures Targeting Third-Country Enablers Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base


Fact Sheet





October 30, 2024



The United States is today sanctioning nearly 400 entities and individuals for enabling Russia’s prosecution of its illegal war. In this action, the Department of State is imposing sanctions on more than 120 individuals and entities. Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is designating more than 270 individuals and entities. For information about Treasury’s actions, please see their press release. The Department of Commerce is also adding 40 entities to its Entity List.


The Department of State’s designations aim to disrupt sanctions evasion and target entities in multiple third countries, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), India, Malaysia, Thailand, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates. The Department is also designating several senior Russian Ministry of Defense officials appointed earlier this year. Additional designations target Russia’s military-industrial base, including military repair facilities, producers of advanced technologies, and entities supporting the Belarus-Russia defense relationship. The Department also continues to target subsidiaries of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom.


All targets are being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14024 which authorizes sanctions with respect to specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation.


The United States will continue to use all tools at its disposal to disrupt support for Russia’s military-industrial base and curtail the Kremlin’s ability to exploit the international financial system and generate revenue in furtherance of its war against Ukraine. We continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine in defending its homeland from Russia’s aggression.


DISRUPTING SANCTIONS EVASION AND BACKFILLING EFFORTS


The Department seeks to disrupt the networks and channels through which Russia procures technology and equipment from entities in third countries to support its war effort. Today’s designations target producers, exporters, and importers of items critical to Russia’s military-industrial base. Those items include microelectronics and computer numerical control items (CNC) on the Common High Priority List (CHPL), as identified by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) alongside the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), and Japan. Entities based in the PRC, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among other countries, continue to sell these items and other important dual-use goods to Russia, including critical components that Russia relies on for its weapons systems to wage war against Ukraine.


Targeting PRC-Based Entities Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base


We remain concerned by the magnitude of exports of dual-use goods from the PRC to Russia. The PRC continues to trade in these items, using the sanctions evasion and circumvention networks that Russia creates to procure CHPL microelectronics and CNC tools (machine tools) to produce weapons. Imports from the PRC fill critical gaps in Russia’s defense production cycle, thereby enabling it to produce weapons, ramp up defense production, and bolster its military-industrial base.


Today, the Department is designating several PRC-based entities that have supplied goods supporting Russia’s war effort, including entities responsible for developing, producing, and supplying manufacturing equipment to entities based in Russia. These designations target producers and exporters of CNC items critical to Russia’s military-industrial base, including entities that have shipped goods directly to U.S.-designated entities in Russia.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
XH SMART TECH CHINA CO LTD (XH SMART TECH) is a PRC-based company involved in the supply of over $4.6 million worth of CHPL items such as specified electronic components (“electronic components”) to Russia-based company LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY INTECHCARD from June 2023 to at least January 2024.  
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY INTECHCARD (INTECHCARD) is a Russia-based company receiving CHPL items such as electronic components from XH SMART TECH. INTECHCARD purportedly collaborates with eight out of ten largest banks in Russia and produces smart cards for leading fintech companies in Russia.
BEIJING DYNAMIC POWER CO LIMITED (BEIJING DYNAMIC POWER) is a PRC-based company involved in the supply of over $2 million worth of CHPL items such as electronic components to Russia-based companies from January 2023 to at least January 2024.
OBSHCHESTVO S OGRANICHENNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTYU RTK TECHNOLOGIES (RTK TECHNOLOGIES) is a Russia-based company receiving CHPL items such as electronic components from BEIJING DYNAMIC POWER.
YIWU VORTEX IMPORT AND EXPORT CO LIMITED is a Hong Kong-based company involved in the supply of over $32 million worth of CHPL items such as electronic components to Russia-based companies from August 2023 to at least March 2024, including the U.S.-designated, Russia-based LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TRADE HOUSE KYUTEK.
JIANGSU CATOFISH GENERAL ELECTRIC CO LTD is a PRC-based company involved in the supply of over $1.5 million worth of CHPL items such as thermal imaging scopes to Russia-based companies from January 2023 to at least January 2024, including U.S.-designated, Russia-based LLC CITYIMPEX and KATOD.
WIN KEY LIMITED is a Hong Kong-based company involved in the supply over $5.9 million worth of CHPL items such as electronic components to Russian companies from January 2023 to at least February 2024, including U.S.-designated, Russia-based NAUCHNO PROIZVODSTVENNOE PREDPRIYATIE ITELMA.
ETOP ELECTRONICS HK CO LIMITED is a Hong Kong-based company involved in the supply of over $24 million worth of CHPL items such as electronic components to Russia-based companies from January 2023 to at least March 2024.
CLF GLOBAL LIMITED (CLF GLOBAL) is a Hong Kong-based company involved in the supply of over $22 million worth of CHPL items such as electronic components to Russia-based companies from February 2023 to at least June 2024, including U.S.-designated, Russia-based OBLTRANSTERMINAL and Russia-based LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY EKSPRESS IMPORT.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY EKSPRESS IMPORT (EKSPRESS IMPORT) is a Russia-based electronics wholesaler receiving CHPL items such as electronic components from CLF GLOBAL.
GRANTS PROMOTION SERVICE LIMITED is a Hong Kong-based company involved in the supply of over $18 million worth of CHPL items such as electronic components to Russia-based companies from January 2023 to at least February 2024, including the U.S.-designated, Russia-based NAUCHNO PROIZVODSTVENNOE PREDPRIYATIE ITELMA.
ZHUHAI RAYSHARP TECHNOLOGY CO LTD is a PRC-based company involved in the supply of over $1.3 million worth of CHPL items such as security video surveillance items to Russia-based companies from January 2023 to at least February 2024, including the U.S.-designated, Russia-based AKTSIONERNOE OBSHCHESTVO TASKOM.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the manufacturing sector of the Russian Federation economy:
ZHEJIANG HEADMAN MACHINERY CO LTD is a PRC-based company involved in the supply of over $7 million worth of CHPL items such as CNC machine tools to a Russia-based company from March 2023 to at least May 2024.
WUHAN HUAZHONG NUMERICAL CONTROL CO LTD is a PRC-based company involved in the supply of over $26 million worth of CHPL items such as CNC machine tools and ball bearings to Russia-based companies from January 2023 to at least January 2024, including U.S.-designated, Russia-based AKTSIONERNOE OBSHCHESTVO TASKOM, KAMI GROUP LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, and LLC MASHIMPORT.  


The Department is designating the following entities and individual involved in the procurement of items with applications for Russian military production.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities and individual are being designated for operating or having operated in the manufacturing sector of the Russian Federation economy:
JOINT STOCK COMPANY KOLOMENSKY ZAVOD (KOLOMENSKY ZAVOD) is a Russia-based manufacturing company that plays a critical role in Russia’s transport sector and military-industrial complex, as it manufactures the D500 and D49 engines ultimately used by Russian naval forces. KOLOMENSKY ZAVOD is also the receiver of foreign-origin shipments, including transmission shafts and parts for locomotive diesel engines, from PRC-based SHANGYIYUAN RESOURCES QINGDAO CO LTD.
KIRILL VALERIEVICH LIPA is a Russian national and serves as the director of U.S.-designated and Russia-based TRANSMASHHOLDING JSC, the parent company of KOLOMENSKY ZAVOD.
SHANGYIYUAN RESOURCES QINGDAO CO LTD (SHINE RESOURCES) is a PRC-based company that shipped over $7 million worth of items to KOLOMENSKY ZAVOD between April 2023 and March 2024, including items such as transmission shafts and parts for locomotive diesel engines. Some shipments were sent to KOLOMENSKY ZAVOD through U.S.-designated and Russia-based AO TASKOM and OBLTRANSTERMINAL as intermediaries.


Targeting Russian Procurement of Aviation Components


The Department of State continues to designate Russian and third-country companies in multiple jurisdictions that are involved in the procurement of U.S. and EU export-controlled aviation and electronic components. Russia has continued to build sanctions evasion and circumvention networks to procure aviation and microelectronic components in an effort to sustain its military industrial base and aviation industry, to include expropriated U.S. and European aircraft.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities and individual are being designated for operating or having operated in the aerospace sector of the Russian Federation economy:
TURBOSHAFT FZE is a UAE-based company that shipped over $600,000 worth of CHPL items to Russia-based companies between January 2023 and February 2024, including to U.S.-designated, and Russia-based, S 7 ENGINEERING LLC. Shipments included CHPL items of U.S.-origin, such as instruments and appliances for aeronautical or space navigation.
TURBOSHAFT DIS TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI (TURBOSHAFT AVIATION) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped over $300,000 worth of CHPL items to Russia-based companies between January 2023 and July 2023, including U.S.-designated, and Russia-based, LLC AVIAKOMPLANIYA POBEDA. Shipments included CHPL items of U.S.-origin, such as apparatuses for the transmission and reception of audio, images, and other data.
TIMUR BADR is a Russian national and serves as the director of TURBOSHAFT FZE and TURBOSHAFT AVIATION.
LLC SERVICE FLY BISHKEK (SERVICE FLY BISHKEK) is a Kyrgyz Republic-based company that sent over $1.2 million worth of U.S. and EU-origin CHPL (Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4) items, including microelectronic and aviation components, to LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY WAREHOUSE FORESS, a Russia-based company, between January 2024 and May 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY WAREHOUSE FORESS (WAREHOUSE FORESS) is a Russia-based aircraft repair and maintenance company that received approximately $1.2 million worth of U.S. and E.U.-origin CHPL items, including microelectronic and aviation components from SERVICE FLY BISHKEK.
REKA GRUP DANISMANLIK VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI (REKA GRUP DANISMANLIK) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped more than $600,000 worth of U.S.-origin CHPL (Tiers 2-4) items, such as aviation components, to Russia-based companies between July 2023 and March 2024. These Russia-based companies include LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY EURASIAN TECHNOLOGICAL ALLIANCE, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY AVIATION ENGINEERING AND SERVICES COMPANY, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY KSP TREID, which are concurrently being designated, and RAPART SERVISEZ, which is already designated by the United States.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY EURASIAN TECHNOLOGICAL ALLIANCE (ETA LLC) is a Russia-based aircraft repair and maintenance company that received approximately $70,000 worth of shipments that included CHPL (Tiers 1, 3, and 4) items between May 2023 and March 2024, including U.S.-origin aviation components.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY AVIATION ENGINEERING AND SERVICES COMPANY (AESC) is a Russia-based aircraft repair and maintenance company that received shipments of U.S.-origin CHPL (Tier 2 and 4) items between July 2023 and January 2024, including aviation components from REKA GRUP DANISMANLIK.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY KSP TREID (KSP TREID) is a Russia-based industrial machinery wholesaler that received approximately $225,000 worth of shipments of U.S.-origin CHPL (Tier 3) items in January 2024, that included aviation components from REKA GRUP DANISMANLIK.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the aerospace sector of the Russian Federation economy:
AIR LEO FZE (AIR LEO) is a UAE-based company that shipped at least $190,000 worth of shipments of CHPL items (Tiers 3-4), such as U.S.-origin aviation components, between March 2023 and March 2024. These shipments were sent to Russia-based companies, including U.S.-designated S 7 ENGINEERING LLC and other Russia-based aviation companies.
AIR LEO M AND E LTD EOOD (AIR LEO M&E) is a Bulgaria-based company that shipped CHPL items (Tiers 3-4) such as microelectronic and aviation components to Russia-based companies which took place in November 2023. AIR LEO M&E and AIR LEO ship similar aviation components and CHPL items to the same Russia-based buyer, 4U AIRCRAFT TECHNIK, and have common leadership.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 4U AIRCRAFT TECHNIK (4U AIRCRAFT TECHNIK) is a Russia-based aircraft repair and maintenance company that received approximately $190,000 worth of shipments that included U.S.-origin CHPL items (Tiers 3-4) items between March 2023 and March 2024 from AIR LEO and AIR LEO M&E.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(vii) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, AIR LEO:
4U AIRCRAFT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING GMBH is a majority-owned Germany-based subsidiary of AIR LEO.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for operating or having operated in the aerospace sector of the Russian Federation economy:
ALTERNATE HAVACILIK SANAYI VE DIS TICARET EGITIM DANISMANLIK LIMITED SIRKETI is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $175,000 worth of shipments that included aviation components and U.S.-origin CHPL (Tiers 3-4) items to Russia-based companies, including AESC and U.S.-designated company S 7 ENGINEERING LLC, between September 2023 and March 2024.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(vi)(B) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of S 7 ENGINEERING LLC:
ABU RAGUEB GENERAL TRADING LLC is a UAE-based company that shipped more than $510,000 worth of shipments that included U.S.-origin aviation components and CHPL Tier 3 items to U.S.-designated company S 7 ENGINEERING LLC from January 2024 to March 2024.
V LINK AVIATION MANAGEMENT FZCO is a UAE-based company that shipped more than $125,000 worth of shipments that included U.S.-origin aviation components to U.S.-designated company S 7 ENGINEERING LLC from January to March 2024.


Targeting Companies Facilitating Sanctions Evasion for Russia’s Benefit in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Türkiye, the UAE, and Uzbekistan


The Department is designating the following India-based companies and individuals, alongside their Russia-based trading partners.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities and individuals are being designated for operating or having operated in the aerospace sector of the Russian Federation economy:
ASCEND AVIATION INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED (ASCEND AVIATION) is an India-based company that sent over 700 shipments to Russia-based companies between March 2023 and March 2024. These shipments included over $200,000 worth of CHPL items, such as U.S.-origin aircraft components.
VIVEK KUMAR MISHRA is an Indian national and the co-director and partial shareholder of ASCEND AVIATION.
SUDHIR KUMAR is an Indian national and the co-director and partial shareholder of ASCEND AVIATION.
MASK TRANS is an India-based company involved in the supply of over $300,000 worth of CHPL items such as aviation components to Russia-based and U.S.-designated S 7 ENGINEERING LLC from June 2023 to at least April 2024.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
TSMD GLOBAL PRIVATE LIMITED (TMSD GLOBAL) is an India-based company that shipped at least $430,000 worth of CHPL items to Russia-based companies, including ELEKTRON KOMPONENT and the following U.S.-designated companies: LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY VMK, ALFA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, and JOINT STOCK COMPANY AVTOVAZ. These shipments, which occurred between July 2023 and March 2024, included U.S.- and EU origin BIS CHPL Tier 1 and 2 items such as electronic integrated circuits, central processing units, and other fixed capacitors.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY ELEKTRON KOMPONENT (ELEKTRON KOMPONENT) is a Russia-based electronics wholesaler that has received CHPL items, including U.S. and U.K.-origin electronic components, from TSMD GLOBAL as recently as March 2024.
FUTREVO is an India-based company involved in the supply of over $1.4 million worth of CHPL items such as electronic components to Russia-based and U.S.-designated LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY SMT-ILOGIC, the manufacturer of Orlan drones with Russia-based and U.S.-designated SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER. The shipments were from January 2023 to at least February 2024.


The Department is designating the following Malaysia-based companies alongside their Russia-based trading partners.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the manufacturing sector of the Russian Federation economy:
ZEOLITE MANSFORD SDN BHD (ZEOLITE) shipped approximately $2.1 million worth of CHPL (Tier 3) items, including ball bearings, to Russia-based companies, including GPZ77 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, in March 2024 alone.
GPZ77 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (GPZ77) is a Russia-based industrial machinery company that received CHPL (Tier 3) items, including ball bearings, from ZEOLITE in March 2024.
MAXTRUM CAPITAL SDN BHD (MAXTRUM) shipped more than $440,000 worth of CHPL (Tier 3) items, including ball bearings, to Russia-based KRUPS MM LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY in March 2024 alone.
KRUPS MM LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (KRUPS MM) is a Russia-based wholesale distributor of engineering equipment that received CHPL (Tier 3) items, including ball bearings, from MAXTRUM as recently as March 2024.
CENTRINA UNITED SDN BHD (CENTRINA) shipped approximately $2.7 million worth of CHPL (Tier 3) items, including ball bearings, to Russia-based companies, including DINAMIKA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY and the following U.S.-designated entities: BALTPROMSERVIS and OOO INSTRUMENTALNO PODSHIPNIKOVAYA KOMPANIYA, between January 2023 and February 2024.
DINAMIKA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (DINAMIKA) is a Russia-based wholesale distributor of industrial machinery that received CHPL (Tier 3) items, including ball bearings, from CENTRINA as recently as March 2024.
GYNTEC CARBON SDN BHD (GYNTEC) is a Malaysia-based company that shipped approximately $2 million worth of CHPL Tier 3 items to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TORGOVYY DOM PPZ, between February 2023 and April 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TORGOVYY DOM PPZ is a Russia-based industrial machinery wholesaler that received approximately $2 million worth of shipments of CHPL items from GYNTEC between February 2023 and April 2024.
MORALABILITY INDUSTRIAL SDN BHD (MORALABILITY) is a Malaysia-based company that shipped approximately $1.3 million worth of CHPL Tier 3 items to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY GERMES, between November 2023 and April 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY GERMES is a Russia-based industrial machinery wholesaler that received shipments of $1.3 million worth of CHPL items from MORALABILITY.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(vi)(B) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of BALTPROMSERVIS, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14024:
882 MELIX GLOBAL SDN BHD (MELIX GLOBAL) is a Malaysia-based ball bearings producer. MELIX GLOBAL exported over $190,000 worth of CHPL items such as ball bearings to U.S.-designated BALTPROMSERVIS in April 2024.


The Department is designating the following Singapore-based companies and individuals, alongside their Türkiye and Russia-based trading partners.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY PROFISTAIL (PROFISTAIL) is a Russia-based technology wholesaler that has received CHPL items from POWERMAN INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD.
POWERMAN INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD (POWERMAN) is a Singapore-based company that shipped approximately $4.5 million worth of CHPL items, including EU-origin motherboards and uninterruptible power supply systems, to Russia-based companies, including to PROFISTAIL, between March 2023 and February 2024.
MNR LOJISTIK VE DIS TICARET LIMITED (MNR LOJISTIK) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $419,000 worth of CHPL items, including electronic components, to Russia-based companies, including to PROFISTAIL, on behalf of POWERMAN in November 2023.
ICON ENDUSTRI IHRACAT TICARET LIMITED is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $550,000 worth of CHPL items, such as E.U.-origin motherboards, to Russia-based companies, including to PROFISTAIL, on behalf of POWERMAN in September 2023.
SERATAN LOJISTIK VE DIS TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI (SERATAN) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $240,000 worth of CHPL items, such as E.U.-origin photosensitive semiconductor devices and static converters, to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY EVROSEL, between August 2023 and January 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY EVROSEL (EVROSEL) is a Russia-based wholesale distribution of industrial machinery that has received CHPL items from SERATAN.


The Department is designating the following Türkiye-based companies alongside their Russia-based trading partners:


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
SOLID TARIM INOVASYON ANONIM SIRKETI (SOLID TARIM) is a Türkiye-based supplier of electronics and electrical equipment. SOLID TARIM exported $11.8 million worth of shipments that included EU-origin CHPL items, such as microelectronics components, to Russia-based companies between March 2023 and March 2024.
ELEKTROPANEL MUHENDISLIK SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI (ELEKTROPANEL MUHENDISLIK) is a Türkiye-based supplier of electronics and electrical equipment. ELEKTROPANEL MUHENDISLIK exported at least $5.9 million worth of shipments that included EU-origin CHPL items such as microelectronics components to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TD ELEKTROTEKHMONTAZH and LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY ELEKTROPANEL, between February 2023 and March 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY ELEKTROPANEL (ELEKTROPANEL) is a Russia-based electronics wholesaler and received CHPL items, such as microelectronic components, from ELEKTROPANEL MUHENDISLIK as recently as January 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TD ELEKTROTEKHMONTAZH (ELEKTROTEKHMONTAZH) is a Russia-based electronics wholesaler and received CHPL items such as microelectronic components from ELEKTROPANEL MUHENDISLIK between June 2023 and March 2024.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the manufacturing sector of the Russian Federation economy:
OZ RULMAN TICARET VE SANAYI LIMITED SIRKETI (OZ RULMAN) is a Türkiye-based supplier of ball bearings. OZ RULMAN exported approximately $2.9 million worth of shipments that included EU-origin CHPL items, such as roller bearings, to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY BERG ENGINEERING, between February 2023 and March 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY BERG ENGINEERING (BERG ENGINEERING) is a Russia-based industrial machinery wholesaler and received CHPL items such as roller bearings from OZ RULMAN as recently as March 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY BS TRADE is a Russia-based automobile parts wholesaler that received shipments of CHPL Tier 3 items from MAS LOGEX DIS TICARET VE LOJISTIK SANAYI LIMITED SIRKETI, such as ball bearings, as recently as January 2024.
CBG TECH DIS TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI (CBG TECH) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $250,000 in CHPL items such as roller bearings to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY INTER PODSHIPNIK GROUP, in February 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY INTER PODSHIPNIK GROUP is a Russia-based industrial machinery wholesaler that received shipments of CHPL items from CBG TECH, such as roller bearings, as recently as February 2024.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TREYDSTROYTSENTR (TREYDSTROYTSENTR) is a Russia-based importer of foreign goods that received CHPL items, such as elements for electrical circuits, static converters, and photosensitive semiconductor devices, from TIOSEAL ISI IZOLASYON MALZEMELERI SANAYI TICARET LIMITED.
TIOSEAL ISI IZOLASYON MALZEMELERI SANAYI TICARET LIMITED (TIOSEAL) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $800,000 worth of CHPL items, such as U.S. and EU-origin semiconductor devices and static converters, to Russia-based companies, including TREYDSTROYTSENTR, between March 2023 and May 2024.
SUVARI GLOBAL ENDUSTRIYEL EKIPMANLAR ITHALAT IHRACAT TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI is a Türkiye-based company that sent at least 95 shipments of CHPL items such as microelectronic components to Russia-based companies between November 2023 and January 2024.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
KHIUS ULUSLARARASI TICARET VE LOJISTIK ANONIM SIRKETI (KHIUS ULUSLARARASI) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $1 million worth of CHPL items, such as electrical transformers and radar apparatuses, to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FASTEIR INTERNESHNL, between March 2023 and February 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FASTEIR INTERNESHNL (FASTEIR INTERNESHNL) is a Russia-based wholesale supplier and distributor of machinery that received shipments of CHPL items, including electrical transformers and radar apparatuses from KHIUS ULUSLARARASI.
MAS LOGEX DIS TICARET VE LOJISTIK SANAYI LIMITED SIRKETI (MAS LOGEX) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $124,000 in goods that included CHPL items, such as microelectronic components, to Russia-based companies, including to OBSHCHESTVO S OGRANICHENNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTYU PROGRESS in January 2024.
OBSHCHESTVO S OGRANICHENNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTYU PROGRESS is a Russia-based wholesaler and machinery repair company that received shipments of EU-origin CHPL Tier 3 items, including antenna filters and accessories, from MAS LOGEX as recently as January 2024.
AVAT ENDUSTRIYEL SISTEMLERI IC VE DIS TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI (AVAT) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $150,000 worth of CHPL items, such as microelectronic components, to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY VERESK, between January 2024 and May 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY VERESK is a Russia-based wholesale distributor of industrial machinery that received approximately $150,000 million worth of CHPL items, such as microelectronic components, between January 2024 and May 2024 from Türkiye-based AVAT.


The Department is designating the following Türkiye-based company and Uzbekistan-based company. Both companies sent shipments of CHPL items to the U.S.-designated and Russia-based company, LLC GTS GRUPP. LLC GTS GRUPP is a known producer and supplier of industrial equipment, automatic control systems, and electrical devices.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
GUCLU GLOBAL LOJISTIK LIMITED SIRKETI (GUCLU GLOBAL) is a Türkiye-based company that shipped approximately $96,000 worth of CHPL items, including electrical equipment and diodes of U.S. and E.U.-origin, to Russia-based companies, including to EVROSEL and to U.S.-designated LLC GTS GRUPP, between May 2023 and April 2024.
THE ELITE INVESTMENT GROUP MAS’ULIYATI CHEKLANGAN JAMIYAT is an Uzbekistan-based company that shipped approximately $190,000 worth CHPL items, including electrical transformers, to Russia-based companies, including to U.S.-designated and Russia based LLC GTS GRUPP, between March 2024 and May 2024 by using GUCLU GLOBAL as its carrier agent.


The Department is designating the following UAE-based companies and individuals, alongside their Russia-based trading partners.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
APILINE TRADING FZE (APILINE) is a UAE-based company that shipped approximately $360,000 worth of CHPL items such as microelectronics components to Russia-based companies in April 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY POWERCOM RUS is a Russia-based electronics wholesaler that received shipments from APILINE that included CHPL items.
AUTO PARTS EAST FZCO (AUTO PARTS EAST) is a UAE-based company that shipped approximately $400,000 of CHPL items, including microelectronic components, to Russia-based companies, including LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FATTURA, between January 2023 and July 2024.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FATTURA (FATTURA) is a Russia-based wholesale distributor of motor vehicle parts that received approximately $400,000 worth of CHPL items from AUTO PARTS EAST between January 2023 and July 2024.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for operating or having operated in the manufacturing sector of the Russian Federation economy:
MOTO EXPORT DWC LLC is a UAE-based company that shipped approximately $1.4 million of CHPL items, including roller bearings, to Russia-based companies between February 2023 and April 2024.


Foreign Suppliers to Strategic Russian Energy Projects


The Department continues to designate entities involved in the development of Russia’s future energy production and export capacity. Today, the Department is designating one company involved in the transportation of highly specialized liquefied natural gas (LNG) modules and gravity-based structure (GBS) equipment designed specifically for Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, as well as a network of shipping companies based in the UAE and Singapore that are involved in the procurement of LNG carriers for NOVATEK, an entity subject to less than full-blocking measures, and the future export of Russian-origin LNG. The Arctic LNG 2 project has relied on foreign service companies’ technology and maritime logistics support, and today’s actions are designed to further promote accountability for entities providing material support to LLC ARCTIC LNG 2, the sanctioned operator of the Arctic LNG 2 project.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(vi)(B) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of LLC ARCTIC LNG 2, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14024:
SMART SOLUTIONS LTD (SMART SOLUTIONS) provided various Gravity-Based Structure parts to U.S.-designated LLC ARCTIC LNG 2. SMART SOLUTIONS was the charterer of the blocked vessels AUDAX and PUGNAX, vessels that delivered liquefaction modules and other critical materials for LLC ARCTIC LNG 2.


In an attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions and revitalize Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, Russian companies have engaged in efforts to procure secondhand LNG tankers, predominantly through front companies in third country jurisdictions, to make up for a critical shortage of available tankers for the Arctic LNG 2 project. In August 2024, the Department designated WHITE FOX SHIP MANAGEMENT FZCO, a UAE-based ship management company which continues to manage four blocked LNG carriers that have transshipped LNG from Russia’s Yamal and Arctic LNG 2 projects. Today’s actions target the registered owners of those four blocked LNG carriers, as well as a UAE-based company involved in the procurement of the vessels and their leasing to NOVATEK, an entity subject to less than full-blocking measures.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, as amended, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy:
LNG ALPHA SHIPPING PTE LTD is majority owned by NEW TRANSHIPMENT FZE and is the registered owner of U.S.-designated NORTH AIR, an LNG carrier that was procured to expand Russia’s LNG export capacity. LNG ALPHA SHIPPING PTE LTD is directed by Russian nationals, and is a joint venture created for the construction and long-term charter of LNG carriers to NOVATEK.
NEW TRANSSHIPMENT FZE is a NOVATEK subsidiary based in the UAE and is involved in the procurement and leasing of four blocked LNG carriers to NOVATEK. NEW TRANSSHIPMENT FZE is directed by a Russian national.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(vii) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for being owned or controlled by, or having acted for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, NEW TRANSSHIPMENT FZE:
LNG BETA SHIPPING PTE LTD is majority owned by NEW TRANSSHIPMENT FZE and is the registered owner of the blocked vessel NORTH MOUNTAIN, an LNG carrier that was procured to expand Russia’s LNG export capacity.
LNG DELTA SHIPPING PTE LTD is majority owned by NEW TRANSSHIPMENT FZE and is the registered owner of the blocked vessel NORTH WAY, an LNG carrier that was procured to expand Russia’s LNG export capacity.
LNG GAMMA SHIPPING PTE LTD is majority owned by NEW TRANSSHIPMENT FZE and is the registered owner of the blocked vessel NORTH SKY, an LNG carrier that was procured to expand Russia’s LNG export capacity.


Promoting Accountability for New Leaders of Russia’s Defense Enterprise


Earlier this year, the Russian government dismissed and reshuffled the leadership of the Ministry of Defense following reports of bribery among senior officials. Today, the Department is continuing our efforts to promote accountability for those facilitating the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine by designating several Russian Deputy Ministers of Defense appointed this year. This action follows the Department’s previous designations of Russian Deputy Ministers of Defense on March 15, 2022. These designations align with previous actions taken against a number of these individuals by Australia, the EU, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.


The Department is designating the following individuals pursuant to section 1(a)(iii)(A) of E.O. 14024, for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the Government of the Russian Federation:
ALEXANDER VASILYEVICH FOMIN is a Deputy Minister of Defense at the Russian Ministry of Defense. FOMIN has been designated by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
VIKTOR PETROVICH GOREMYKIN is a Deputy Minister of Defense at the Russian Ministry of Defense. GOREMYKIN has been designated by the European Union and Switzerland.
ANNA EVGENYEVNA TSIVILEVA is a Deputy Minister of Defense at the Russian Ministry of Defense. TSIVILEVA has been designated by the European Union and Switzerland.
PAVEL MIKHAYLOVICH FRADKOV is a Deputy Minister of Defense at the Russian Ministry of Defense.
ANDREY MIKHAYLOVICH BULYGA is a Deputy Minister of Defense at the Russian Ministry of Defense.


Maintaining Pressure on Rosatom


This is the tenth Russia sanctions action that includes designations of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (Rosatom) subsidiaries. The Department continues to designate Rosatom entities and individuals involved in Russia’s nuclear weapons complex and defense sector, nuclear power plant construction exports, development of advanced technologies and materials, extractive industries and associated businesses, and Rosatom’s malign activities including the occupation of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Today, the Department is designating Rosatom subsidiaries involved in the development of digital and electronic technologies and new business lines to support Rosatom’s activities.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(vii) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation:
ROSATOM DIGITAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY is a Russian state-owned enterprise and Rosatom subsidiary involved in the development of digital products and the import-substitution of specialized software.
AO TSIFROVYE PLATFORMY I RESHENIYA UMNOGO GORODA is a Russian state-owned enterprise and Rosatom subsidiary involved in computer programming activities.
ROSATOM MICROELECTRONICS JOINT STOCK COMPANY is a Russian state-owned enterprise and Rosatom subsidiary involved in the development of domestic electronics components for Rosatom enterprises.


Further Targeting the Belarus-Russia Defense Relationship


The Department continues to designate entities and individuals related to the Lukashenka regime’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. Today, the Department is designating several enterprises involved in supplying Belarus and Russia-based entities involved in Russia’s defense industry, including three Russia-based entities and one-PRC based entity.


These actions build upon previous efforts to sanction Belarusian entities providing support to Russia’s war against Ukraine, most recently on June 12, 2024, August 9, 2024, and August 23, 2024.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(vi)(B) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY ROGACHEVSKY ZAVOD DIAPROEKTOR, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14024:
(SBU) MOROTACK TIANJIN TECHNOLOGY CO LTD CHINA is a PRC-based company that has sold critical components for military products to U.S.-designated, Belarus-based company OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY ROGACHEVSKY ZAVOD DIAPROEKTOR.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy:
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY PRECISION LASER SYSTEMS (PLS) is a Russia-based company that has supplied fiber lasers to U.S-designated Belarus-based OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY ROGACHEVSKY ZAVOD DIAPROEKTOR that are used in the manufacture of Sosna-U tank gunner sights that are then being supplied to U.S.-designated Belarus-based PELENG JSC and ultimately produced for use by the Russian Ministry of Defense. On December 2, 2021, the Department of the Treasury designated PELENG JSC pursuant to E.O. 14038.
ASTRON OPTO MECHANICAL DESIGN BUREAU is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has engineered a long-range thermal imaging reconnaissance system used in the 400T drone used in Ukraine. Additionally, ASTRON OPTO MECHANICAL DESIGN BUREAU has been supplied parts for thermal imaging devices from U.S.-designated, Belarus-based JSC MINSK MECHANICAL PLANT NAMED AFTER S.I. VAVILOV MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF BELOMO HOLDING. On December 5, 2023, the Department of the Treasury designated JSC MINSK MECHANICAL PLANT NAMED AFTER S.I. VAVILOV MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF BELOMO HOLDING pursuant to E.O. 14038.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy:
OOO IP NTSVO FOTONIKA is a Russia-based company that has specialized in fiber optics and manufactured optical instruments. Additionally, OOO IP NTSVO FOTONIKA worked with U.S.-designated Belarus-based OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY ROGACHEVSKY ZAVOD DIAPROEKTOR under state defense orders of the Russian Ministry of Defense.


Constraining Russia’s War Effort and Military Industrial Base


The Department continues to apply pressure on the entities providing support and equipment for Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. Today, the department is targeting a number of entities involved in the production of weapons, ammunition, battlefield electronics, fighter aircraft, photonics, vessels, and armed UAVs. Additional targets include entities involved in repair of military equipment being used by Russia’s war machine and a Thailand-based entity involved in the shipment of critical military-applicable dual-use items to Russia.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy:
PUBLIC JOINT STOCK COMPANY SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION ENTERPRISE IMPULSE is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has manufactured military electronic equipment as a subsidiary of U.S.-designated JOINT STOCK COMPANY AEROSPACE DEFENSE CONCERN ALMAZ-ANTEY.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION ENTERPRISE PLANT ISKRA is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has developed diodes, transistors and other semiconductor devices for the Russian defense sector as a subsidiary of U.S.-designated JOINT STOCK COMPANY AEROSPACE DEFENSE CONCERN ALMAZ-ANTEY.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY REMVOORUZHENIE is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has produced rocket artillery systems and developed, repaired, and modernized weapons and military equipment for the Russian military.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 780 NAVIGATION TECHNICAL MEANS REPAIR PLANT is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has engaged in the repair and restoration of navigation equipment of ships and vessels of the Russian Navy.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 103 ARSENAL is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has repaired and modernized tank weapon control systems and military equipment.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 63 ARSENAL is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has manufactured weapons and ammunition.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 5 ARSENAL is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has repaired, produced, and manufactured weapons and military equipment.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 6 ARSENAL is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has manufactured and maintained military equipment and ammunition.
OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY 136 CENTRALNAY BAZA PROIZVODSTVA I REMONTA VOORYGENIY I CREDSTV RADIACIONNOI HIMICHESKOI I BIOLOGICHESKOI ZACHITU is a Russian state-owned enterprise involved in the production of weapons, military equipment, and special purpose vehicles.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY SEPARATELY CONSTRUCTOR TECHNOLOGIC OFFICE VEKTOR is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has maintained weapons and military equipment.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY MAINTENANCE BASE OF AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTS AND AERODROME EQUIPMENT is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has produced, maintained, and repaired military and special machinery.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY RESEARCH CENTRE VITYAZ is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has manufactured weapons and military equipment.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY SPETSTECHNIKA is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has designed and produced weapons and ammunition.
UNITED ENGINE CORPORATION PERM ENGINES RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION COMPLEX is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has specialized in the development, mass production, and maintenance of engines used in the MiG-31 fighter aircraft.
LIMITED LIABITITY COMPANY OPITNO KONSTRUKTORSKOE BUREAU AVIAAVTOMATIKA is a Russia-based company that has produced an explosive UAV armament complex.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the manufacturing sector of the Russian Federation economy:
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 261 REPAIR FACTORY OF FUEL FILLING AND TRANSPORTATION is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has repaired and modernized military and armored vehicles for the Russian Army.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 78 CENTRAL ENGINEERING BASE is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has repaired vehicles and developed, repaired, and sold weapons and military equipment.
SPECIAL SYSTEMS PHOTONICS LLC is a Russia-based company that has specialized in the manufacture and distribution of photonics-related equipment.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entity is being designated for operating or having operated in the engineering sector of the Russian Federation economy:
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 171 SEPARATE DESIGN TECHNOLOGICAL BUREAU is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has worked on nuclear propulsion for military purposes and provides engineering services.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy:
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 18TH NAVY SPECIAL DESIGN AND ENGINEERING OFFICE is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has constructed port facilities and hydraulic structures.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY 51 CENTRAL DESIGN TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE SHIP REPAIR is a Russian state-owned enterprise that has constructed, repaired, and maintained ships and boats.


Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024, the following entities are being designated for operating or having operated in the electronics sector of the Russian Federation economy:
MMP ELECTRONICS COMP CO. LTD. is a Thailand-based company owned by a Russian national that shipped CHPL items including electronic components to Russia-based consignees.


OBSHCHESTVO S OGRANICHENNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTIU MODUL ELEKTRONIKA is a Russia-based company that has manufactured electronic components.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Division for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions Office of the Spokesperson Russia Sanctions Ukraine


United States and Chile Meet to Discuss Free Trade Agreement Environment Chapter and Environmental Cooperation Agreement Implementation 
10/30/2024

United States and Chile Meet to Discuss Free Trade Agreement Environment Chapter and Environmental Cooperation Agreement Implementation 
10/30/2024 01:49 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…United States and Chile Meet to Discuss Free Trade Agreement Environment Chapter and Environmental Cooperation Agreement Implementation 
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United States and Chile Meet to Discuss Free Trade Agreement Environment Chapter and Environmental Cooperation Agreement Implementation 


Media Note





October 30, 2024



The Governments of the United States and Chile held meetings on October 29 and 30 to review implementation of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Environment Chapter and cooperation activities under the United States-Chile Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA). 


The meetings included government-to-government sessions and a public session of the FTA Environmental Affairs Council and the ECA Joint Commission for Environmental Cooperation.  Topics discussed included shared objectives to combat climate change; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; wildlife trafficking; and plastic pollution.  The United States and Chile also discussed bilateral environmental cooperation focused on implementation and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations, sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity, environmental education and civil society participation in environmental decision-making, and air and water quality.  During the meetings, the United States reaffirmed its cooperation with Chile on trade and environmental policy, including implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. 


The U.S. delegation was co-led by Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary Jennifer R. Littlejohn and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Environment and Natural Resources Kelly Milton. 


For media inquiries, please contact OES-Press@state.gov. 



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Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Chile Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Environment Office of the Spokesperson Treaties and International Agreements


Online Press Briefing with Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh
10/30/2024
Online Press Briefing with Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh
10/30/2024 03:19 PM EDT



Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.



MODERATOR: Good afternoon from the State Department’s Brussels Media Hub. I’d like to welcome everybody joining us for today’s virtual press briefing. We’re very honored to be joined by Mr. Daleep Singh, the Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.

We’d like the questions – further questions to focus purely on Russian sovereign assets, if possible. And we’ll have time to take three, maybe four questions before Mr. Singh has to move to another appointment.

A quick reminder that today’s session is on the record. And with that, let’s get started. Mr. Singh, I’ll turn it over to you for opening remarks.

MR SINGH: All right. Thanks, John, and thanks, everybody, for joining the call. Let me just make a few observations at the top and then I’d be happy to jump into your questions.

First, the deal finalized last week to harness $50 billion of value from the frozen Russian assets, it’s a demonstration of why multilateralism is a force multiplier in foreign policy. No single country could have delivered this deal by itself. Every G7 country will contribute to the loan. And together we’re delivering a unified signal that the leading democracies of the world won’t fatigue in standing behind Ukraine’s fight for freedom. Excuse me.

Second, it sends an unmistakable signal to Putin that time is not on his side. One of the reasons why the United States pushed for the G7 to immobilize Russia’s central bank assets only two days after Putin’s invasion began in 2022 was that we knew it would come as a surprise in terms of the severity of the action, the unity with which we’d act, and our collective speed. In doing so, we believed our collective resolve could help change Putin’s calculus about the costs of prosecuting a senseless war.

The deal announced last week to unlock $50 billion from the Russian assets we froze more than two years ago is a demonstration that these costs will continue to rise so long as the war continues. The G7 has the resources within its control to ensure that Russia pays and that Ukraine prevails. The choice is ours.

Third, Ukraine will now receive an economic lifeline as it prepares for a third winter of war. The G7 deal will produce immediate benefits for Ukraine to close its near-term budget gap, to sustain its IMF program, and to fund its defense.

And fourth, I want to underline that this deal was far from inevitable. The truth is it was improbable only a few months ago and seemingly impossible many times over. It was forged by leadership, creativity, collaboration, and dogged persistence across the G7, from the staff level all the way to the top of our political systems. It came together because a combination of committed leaders, diplomats, and technocrats – with expertise ranging from macroeconomics, financial markets, credit risk, tax, and the law – resolved that the moral, political, and economic case for getting this done for tens of millions of innocent people in Ukraine was overwhelming.

We knew from the start that this action would have no historical precedent and that the costs and risks involved are considerable, but equally, we understood that the costs and risks of leaving Ukraine insufficiently financed to fight for its freedom were unacceptable. And so we found a way forward that respects the rule of law in every G7 jurisdiction, maintains our solidarity, and keeps all of our options available for any subsequent actions.

Let me just stop there and I’d be happy to chat with any questions you have.

MODERATOR: Thanks so much for those opening remarks, Mr. Singh. Let’s go to our first question that was submitted earlier from Besson Sylvain from Tamedia in Switzerland, who asks: “Is Switzerland involved in any way in Russian sovereign or central bank asset confiscation or the ongoing discussions?”

MR SINGH: Okay, thanks for that question. Switzerland is not part of the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loan syndicate that we announced last week as part of the $50 billion deal, but it’s solidarity from the start of the war, its willingness to break centuries of neutrality, has underscored that our cause is to defend shared principles that underpin global peace and security. And we’d welcome the participation of Switzerland and any other country in pledging immobilize Russian assets held in its jurisdiction towards the loan syndicate or finding any other ways to participate over the course of time.

MODERATOR: Excellent, thank you. Second question – submitted one – is from Chris Cook from the Financial Times in the UK: “I’d like to know your assessment of the barter arrangements that have emerged in the wake of payment disruption.”

MR SINGH: We have picked up on reports of barter arrangements that have resulted from Russia’s payment difficulties, particularly – particularly with China. But I think this creates more of a – eventually this will create more of a strategic wedge than a solution, because for China, it can’t say that it wants better relations with Europe while funding and fueling the biggest threat to Europe’s security since the Cold War. It can’t claim to be a responsible stakeholder in the Indo-Pacific if it’s part of an axis that’s propping up North Korea’s military capabilities. And it’s not going to be able to export its way out of a deflationary slump if it’s antagonizing its largest consumers.

So for China in particular, which is where a lot of these barter arrangements are reportedly being made, if it really wants to end the war, it should pull the plug. Its factories should stop providing inputs that Russia is using to generate lethal output on the battlefield – the machine tools, the microelectronics and the engines that are going into tanks and missiles and drones. China really can’t have it both ways, and if it continues to try to do so, the damage to its reputation – in Europe but also well beyond – it will be profound and lasting.

MODERATOR: Thanks. We have a number of hands up. Why don’t we go to Jenny Gross. Jenny, please go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for this. It’s Jenny Gross from The New York Times in Brussels. What reassurance have you gotten from EU officials that Europe is more moving towards extending the sanctions renewal period to 36 months, or really to any period beyond six months? And how important is that to you?

MR SINGH: Yeah, it’s quite important. The scale of our contribution was always a function of the strength of the assurances that we received about the continued immobilization of the assets held in Europe. After all, that’s where the income that is going to be used to repay our loans will come from. And so a number of factors led us to raise our assessment of the assurances that we were receiving from Europe. Number one, the EU Council statement that was passed at the end of June, and then once again in October, that codified the commitments that were made at the G7 summit in early June. And this, I should say, this was a commitment made by the EU Council that included all 27 member-states, including Hungary. In other words, the assets immobilized – the Russian Central Bank assets that are immobilized in Europe will remain so until there’s a just peace between Russia and a free and sovereign Ukraine, and until Russia pays for the damages that it’s wreaked.

I would say another factor that was relevant to us is the history of the EU sanctions regime. As you know, Jenny, there’s been a six-month rollover decision that requires unanimity in place ever since the EU first unveiled sectoral sanctions against Russia in 2014. And without fail, every six months the historical record proves that despite the drama and grandstanding that comes with it, those rollover decisions have always been made with unanimity over the last 10 years.

And the last factor I would point to is the equal skin in the game that the EU will have relative to the United States in this $50 billion deal. We’re both going to make $20 billion contributions to the loan syndicate, and therefore we have shared incentives to ensure that the assets remain immobilized long enough to repay our loans.

So those were all collectively really important factors that allowed us to make a commitment that’s equal to the EU and making this deal happen.

MODERATOR: Thanks for that. We have one more submitted question, this time from John O’Donnell from Reuters in Germany: “If sanctions on Russia were to be unwound in the future, how could these Russian assets be unfrozen, and what are the implications?”

MR SINGH: I’m sorry, John, you cut out for a second. Could you say that one more time?

MODERATOR: Apologies, of course. “If sanctions on Russia were to be unwound in the future, how could these Russian assets be unfrozen, and what are the implications?”

MR SINGH: Still not able to hear you.

MODERATOR: Testing comms again. Can you hear me?

MR SINGH: John, are you there?

MODERATOR: Can you hear me now?

MR SINGH: Oh, sorry, John – okay, I’ve got you. Yes. If sanctions on Russia were to be unwound in the future, how could these Russian assets be unfrozen?

MODERATOR: Correct.

MR SINGH: Yeah. So G7 leaders have committed several times – and most recently at their summit in Apulia – that the Russian Central Bank assets will remain immobilized until there is a just peace between Russia and a free and sovereign Ukraine, and until Russia pays for the damages it has caused. So if both – if both conditions are met, then any outstanding loan balances that can’t be covered by the interest income from the immobilized assets will be covered by Ukraine using the payment made to it by Russia.

MODERATOR: Copy that. We have one last question, if you have time, sir.

MR SINGH: Sure.

MODERATOR: From – this time I’ll call on one of the hands that are raised. Alex, Alex Raufoglu, please go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes, John, good morning. Thank you so much for doing this. I have two quick questions. Can you please clarify when the White House intends to submit a formal request to Congress for the 10 billion FMF loan authorization? And if anything you would be willing to share about some of the conversations going on with the lawmakers there.

A second question: It looks like the administration missed a mandatory October 20 deadline to publicly report to Congress the exact value of Russian state assets frozen in the United States. Any update on that front, please? Thank you so much.

MR SINGH: Sure. So on your first question, we did request for two so-called budget anomalies in the continuing resolution that would allow us to make an FMF loan as part of our $20 billion contribution. One of those anomalies would raise the authority we have to make an FMF loan; the second would increase the repayment period for making such a loan, which would therefore reduce the credit risk associated with it.

So we’re working with Congress to see if we can get those anomalies passed in a timely fashion. If we’re not able to do so, then the entirety of our $20 billion contribution would flow to the World Bank trust fund that we’ve established with other partners, and that will be directed towards budget support and project assistance to Ukraine, both in the economic realm. If we’re able to get the anomalies, then we would likely split the $20 billion that we’re providing to Ukraine evenly between economic assistance and security assistance.

On your second question, here I’ll direct you to Treasury and OFAC. They are executing the – they are executing the directive in the REPO Act that you’re referencing in terms of disclosing the quantum of Russian-sanctioned assets that are held both in the United States but also across the world. So I would refer to them for comment – to them for comment.

MODERATOR: Thanks so much for that. Unfortunately, everyone, I’m sorry, we are out of time. Thank you, Mr. Singh, for joining us today and for your discussion on this important topic. Shortly we will send the audio recording of the briefing to all the participating journalists and provide a transcript as soon as it is available. We’d also always love to hear your feedback. You can contact us at any time at TheBrusselsHub@state.gov. Mr. Singh, thanks again.

MR SINGH: Thanks, everybody, for joining. Thank you, John.

MODERATOR: And we hope you can join us all for another press briefing in the near future. This ends today’s briefing.
U.S. Delegation to the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29)
10/31/2024


U.S. Delegation to the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29)
10/31/2024 03:52 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…U.S. Delegation to the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29)
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U.S. Delegation to the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29)


Media Note





October 31, 2024



From November 11-22, 2024, senior Biden-Harris Administration officials from more than 20 U.S. Departments, Agencies, and organizations will travel to Baku, Azerbaijan to highlight U.S. leadership on tackling the climate crisis and to work towards strong negotiated outcomes at the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29).


The U.S. delegation will be led by Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta.


Other senior officials in the U.S. delegation include:
Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of Energy
Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and White House National Climate Advisor
Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality
David Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy
Laura Daniel-Davis, Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior
Jane Nishida, Acting Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Rick Spinrad, Ph.D, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security


In addition to those listed above, the U.S. delegation will include a wide range of other U.S. government officials working on how climate change relates to armed conflict, finance, food security, gender, global health, trade and investment, youth issues, and more.


For media inquiries, please contact ClimateComms@state.gov.



Tags
Azerbaijan Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Climate and Environment COP29 Energy Office of the Spokesperson Official International Travel


Under Secretary Fernandez Announces Trade Delegation at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce Gala in Michigan
10/31/2024


Under Secretary Fernandez Announces Trade Delegation at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce Gala in Michigan
10/31/2024 04:50 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…Under Secretary Fernandez Announces Trade Delegation at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce Gala in Michigan
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Under Secretary Fernandez Announces Trade Delegation at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce Gala in Michigan


Media Note





October 31, 2024



Under Secretary Fernandez delivered the keynote address at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce’s 32nd Anniversary “Building Economic Bridges” Gala October 25, dedicated to celebrating innovation, entrepreneurship, and advancements in clean energy. Building on this year’s theme, he shared insights on global economic trends and how they align with the entrepreneurial spirit fueling Arab American businesses.


He also announced the United States would lead a trade delegation with the Chamber and the Michigan Municipal League and Foundation in December of this year to Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates to deepen cooperation between the United States and these key partners. The trip will bolster public-private collaboration in sectors including critical minerals, supply chain resilience, and emerging technologies.


Under Secretary Fernandez’s engagement with the American Arab Chamber of Commerce aims to strengthen foreign commercial advocacy to benefit Michigan’s private sector and Arab American business communities across the U.S. and promote job creation.


Learn more from the Chamber’s full recording and press release and Under Secretary Fernandez’s remarks. To stay up to date, follow Under Secretary Fernandez on X: @State_E, LinkedIn: @State-E, and Facebook: @StateDeptE. For media inquiries, please contact E_Communications@state.gov.



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Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy Michigan Minerals Office of Public Liaison Office of the Spokesperson Official Domestic Travel Supply Chains Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment


Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs Sfraga Travels to Iceland, Finland, and Norway
11/01/2024


Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs Sfraga Travels to Iceland, Finland, and Norway
11/01/2024 03:10 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs Sfraga Travels to Iceland, Finland, and Norway
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Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs Sfraga Travels to Iceland, Finland, and Norway


Media Note





November 1, 2024



Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs Michael Sfraga will travel from November 2-9 to Reykjavik, Iceland; Helsinki, Finland; and Oslo, Norway to engage in consultations with Arctic Allies to advance our cooperation and mutual interests in the region.


For media inquiries, please contact SAR-Events@state.gov.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Finland Iceland Norway Office of the Spokesperson Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs Official International Travel


The Week at State: October 25 – October 31, 2024
11/01/2024








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October 25 – October 31

Are you watching The Diplomat? We asked one of our diplomats to review moments from the first season.

Here’s what happened at State this past week. ⤵️🗣️ Secretary Blinken provided an update on our Modernization Agenda.
✈️ We continued making it easier for the world to visit America.
🇱🇧 Secretary Blinken met with Lebanese leadership in London.


Secretary Blinken Underscores Progress of Department’s Modernization Agenda

On Wednesday, Secretary Blinken detailed the progress we have made in our Modernization Agenda since he launched it three years ago.

The agenda is a comprehensive initiative to strengthen American diplomacy and equip the Department to meet the challenges of a new era in international affairs.

It focuses on supporting critical missions, strengthening our workforce, and encouraging reasonable risk and innovation.

“It’s our privilege to do all we can to leave this Department stronger than we found it so that when we pass the baton to those who follow, they can grab it and run even further ahead,” the Secretary said.








‘We Want the World to Come to America’

Travel and tourism are a key part of America’s foreign policy and economy.

In 2024, we broke passport processing records for the third consecutive year, issuing 24.5 million passports and 11.5 million visas. This brings more travel and tourism to the U.S., and supports millions of Americans working in this industry.

“America is open for business, we’re open for travel, we’re open for tourism,” Secretary Blinken said, after a meeting with Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce. “We want the world to come to America.”

Passport processing times are also down, and more than 1 million Americans have used our online system to renew their passports.

“We’re about to enter this mega decade for big sports events, the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics and Paralympics, the Rugby World Championships, all here in the United States,” Secretary Blinken said on X/Twitter. “And we’re making sure that people traveling to the United States for those events are going to get their visas, get them on time, and get to enjoy everything here.”


The U.S. Supports Lebanon and its Sovereign Institutions

The United States stands in support of the Lebanese people.

Last Friday, Secretary Blinken met with Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati in London. There, the Secretary discussed support for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, humanitarian needs, and Lebanon’s stability.

“A diplomatic resolution that implements (United Nations Security Council Resolution) 1701 is essential so displaced citizens can return home,” Secretary Blinken said on X/Twitter.

The same day in Paris, Deputy Secretary Richard Verma sat down with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Bou Habib. They talked about ending the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, and providing humanitarian aid.


Solidifying Our Enduring Alliance with the Republic of Korea

Secretary Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Republic of Korea Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and Minister of Defense Kim Yong-hyun on Thursday.

The meeting followed commitments that both sides made during ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the U.S. in 2023.

“Our enduring alliance with the Republic of Korea is vital as we face growing DPRK provocations and geopolitical challenges,” Secretary Blinken said on X/Twitter.


Dolly Parton, a Force in the Music Industry, Receives 2024 Peace Through Music Award

Photo credit: The Associated Press

The Department and the Recording Academy honored 10-time Grammy-Award winner Dolly Parton with the 2024 PEACE Through Music Award.

The icon’s timeless music and philanthropy promote peace worldwide. Parton’s Imagination Library helps underserved children all over the world learn through reading. She is also a champion for public health, most recently the COVID-19 vaccine.

The award is part of our Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, an initiative Secretary Blinken announced in 2023. In her acceptance speech, Parton said music has the power to soothe, educate, and bring people together in peace.

“There’ll always be music as long as there’s a story to be told,” Parton sang. “There’ll always be music, ‘cause music is the voice of the soul.”


News You May Have MissedWe welcomed the United Kingdom’s sanctions against purveyors of Kremlin disinformation.
We joined calls for a full investigation of all reports of election related violations in Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections.
The U.S. launched the Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0 to support carbon-neutral solutions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Women Leaders in STEM began their exchange program in the U.S. to expand opportunities for women and girls in science and technology fields.
The World Food Laureate Prize was awarded to Geoffrey Hawtin and Cary Fowler for their conservation efforts.
We welcomed Chile as the 47th signatory of the Artemis Accords.






🔎 Looking AheadNovember 1: National Native American Heritage Month and Veterans Month begin
November 11: Veterans Day
November 11–22: UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29)
👉 Note to Our Readers

We welcome your feedback on this newsletter. Send us your thoughts to EmailTeam@state.gov. 📩












Useful linksTravel advisories and updates on international travel for U.S. Citizens from the Department of State
Did you know that you can invite a representative from the Department of State to speak at your school, business, agency or organization? Learn about what we do through the firsthand experience of one of our representatives.

Read More at State.gov








United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine
11/01/2024


United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine
11/01/2024 04:40 PM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases…United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine
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United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine


Press Statement





November 1, 2024



The United States is providing another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to our Ukrainian partners as they defend against Russia’s ongoing attacks. This additional assistance, provided under previously exercised Presidential Drawdown Authority from Department of Defense stocks, is valued at $425 million. It includes Stinger missiles; air-to-ground munitions; additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS); ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition; Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) equipment and munitions; Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers; small arms and ammunition; medical equipment; grenades and training equipment; demolitions equipment and munitions; and spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.


This latest package demonstrates the United States’ commitment to surge security assistance to Ukraine that Congress has authorized. President Biden has been clear that we will utilize as much of the authority that Congress has authorized in support of Ukraine as possible before he leaves office. We will continue to surge security assistance for Ukraine and provide Ukraine the support it needs to succeed on the battlefield and prevail in its defense against Russia’s aggression.



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Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Office of the Spokesperson The Secretary of State Ukraine


Condemning Russia’s Conviction of Robert Shonov
11/02/2024



Condemning Russia’s Conviction of Robert Shonov
11/02/2024 10:59 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The United States strongly condemns Russia’s conviction and sentencing of Robert Shonov, a former employee of U.S. Mission Russia. His conviction on meritless allegations is an egregious injustice.

The allegations against Mr. Shonov are entirely fictitious and without merit.

His targeting under the “confidential cooperation” statute highlights the Kremlin’s blatant use of increasingly repressive laws against its own citizens.


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