U.S. Department of State Public Schedule: October 26, 2016, Other News

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PUBLIC SCHEDULE
October 26, 2016
 

SECRETARY JOHN KERRY

12:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Kerry participates in a discussion with University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics students, moderated by Walter Isaacson, in Chicago, Illinois.

6:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Kerry delivers remarks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, at the Hilton Hotel, in Chicago, Illinois. Please click here for more information.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ANTONY BLINKEN

Deputy Secretary Blinken is on travel to Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. Please click here for more information.

DEPUTY SECRETARY HEATHER HIGGINBOTTOM

Deputy Secretary Higginbottom attends meetings and briefings, at the Department of State.

COUNSELOR KRISTIE A. KENNEY

9:50 a.m. Counselor Kenney delivers remarks at the John C. Whitehead Student Conference entitled, “Discover Diplomacy: America’s Diplomats in a Changing World,” at the Department of State. Please click here for more information.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT CATHERINE NOVELLI

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Novelli meets with Argentina Minister of Production, Francisco Cabrera, at the Department of State.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS SARAH SEWALL

Under Secretary Sewall is on travel to Nigeria from October 25 to 28 for meetings with government officials, civil society, and the diplomatic community to discuss cooperation around countering violent extremism. Please click here for more information.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS RICHARD STENGEL

Under Secretary Stengel is on travel to United Arab Emirates from October 24 to 28. Please click here for more information.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS TOM SHANNON

Under Secretary Shannon is on travel to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Please click here for more information.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM R. BROWNFIELD

Assistant Secretary Brownfield is on travel to Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan from October 24 to 26 for discussions on counternarcotics and rule of law programs with Kazakhstani officials, including with the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Security Chairperson, and the heads of the Criminal Police Department and Department on Combating Drug Business.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS CHARLES RIVKIN

12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Rivkin attends a meeting at the White House.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE FRANK ROSE

Assistant Secretary Rose is on travel to Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. Please click here for more information.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS DANIEL RUSSEL

Assistant Secretary Russel is on travel to Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Please click here for more information.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS EVAN RYAN

Assistant Secretary Ryan is on travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and London, United Kingdom. Please click here for more information.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD

Assistant Secretary Greenfield is on travel to France, Namibia, Lesotho, and South Africa from October 26 to November 5.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAVID SAPERSTEIN

Ambassador Saperstein is on travel to Indonesia and Malaysia. Please click here for more information.

Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield to Travel to France, Namibia, Lesotho, and South Africa

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield will travel to France, Namibia, Lesotho, and South Africa from October 26-November 5.

In Paris, France from October 26-27, the Assistant Secretary will attend a ministerial conference on peacekeeping in French-speaking countries.

In Windhoek, Namibia from October 28-November 1, the Assistant Secretary will meet with Namibian President Hage Geingob, Peace Corps Volunteers, and Mandela Washington Fellows from the President’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

The Assistant Secretary will then travel to Maseru, Lesotho from November 1- 2 to recognize 50 years of our bilateral partnership. During her visit she will meet with government officials, prominent Basotho women, Mandela Washington Fellows, and visit a health clinic supported by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) through its first Lesotho Compact and by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

The Assistant Secretary will then continue on to Pretoria, South Africa. On November 3, she will join Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Shannon, and Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Thomas Perriello, to meet with senior South African officials for the periodic Working Group on Africa and Global Issues, which advances the longstanding strategic dialogue between the United States and South Africa.

Be sure to follow the Assistant Secretary on Twitter @StateAfrica for more updates throughout her trip.

The U.S.-China Counterterrorism Dialogue

On October 25, U.S. and Chinese officials met in Washington, DC for the U.S.-China Counterterrorism Dialogue as well as an expert-level exchange on Countering Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED). The latter exchange is the second to be held on the topic, following the inaugural C-IED discussion in 2015.

Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Justin Siberell led the U.S. delegation, which includes officials from the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security. The Chinese inter-agency delegation of over thirty members was led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister, Li Huilai.

The U.S.-China Counterterrorism Dialogue was designed to advance a common agenda and increase coordination on counterterrorism issues. Topics included regional terrorist threats, aviation security, information sharing, border security, safeguarding human rights, and efforts to counter violent extremism.

The United States looks forward to continued counterterrorism exchanges with China to broaden and deepen cooperation between the two countries.

For more information on the U.S.-China relationship, please see the U.S.-China Joint Declaration on Combatting Terrorism: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/09/247201.htm.

Launch of "Creative Minds for Social Good"

The Department of State is pleased to announce the launch of “Creative Minds for Social Good”, a new public-private initiative to increase the capacity of private voices in the Middle East and North Africa to create and disseminate compelling online content that counters terrorist propaganda and promotes positive alternatives in the region. The State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs is conducting this program in partnership with Facebook and the Hedayah International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism.

The program will consist of a series of advanced-level workshops run by regional experts who will assist participants in developing concepts for online content. The first workshop took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on October 24-25 and included participants from throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Experts from advertising, creative, digital and production companies, led by the Facebook Creative Shop Team, served as advisors to help refine the participants’ concepts. Representatives from the Sawab Center, a bilateral U.S.-UAE initiative to counter ISIL’s online propaganda, also provided recommendations on countering terrorist groups on social media.

The “Creative Minds for Social Good” program will help forge a united front among government, industry, and private citizenry against the online spread of terrorist ideologies by groups such as ISIL and Al-Qa’ida. In the ongoing effort to counter extremists online, the Department remains committed to supporting regional, third party voices who share in this common objective.