Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Judith G. Garber will travel to Brussels, Belgium from June 5-7 to meet with European officials to discuss wildlife trafficking, ocean issues, health security, and scientific collaboration.

Acting Assistant Secretary Garber will then travel to Gaborone, Botswana from June 7-10. During her time in Botswana, she will meet with government officials and representatives from NGOs and other organizations to engage on wildlife trafficking, sustainable fisheries, public health, water, and advancing education and research in science and technology.

For further information, contact Yoon Nam (NamYS@state.gov).

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

SECRETARY TILLERSON: (Applause.) You can try to hide, Mr. Secretary. It’s not going to work. (Laughter.)

Well, first, thanks to all of you for joining us. I know it’s the end of the workday for all of you, but appreciate the opportunity to at least have a moment to say a few words. I want to thank Charge’ Carouso, Consul Fowler, for the leadership they’re providing both in the mission and here in the consular office as well in Sydney.

Secretary Mattis and I have had a really great day of discussions with the AUSMIN, and appreciate the work that all of you did. It helped prepare the way when we come down here for these visits. But very good, substantive discussions. Again, just a reaffirmation of how strong the relationship is with ourselves and with Australia, the important role that all of you play as well.

Also, of course, you had Vice President Pence came through and I know he had a great visit as well. I think, hopefully, what everyone is getting a sense of is how important this region to the administration – a number of visits here, a number of visits throughout the region. And that’s a lot of what our message has been to folks on these trips, is that this is important to us. These relationships are important, and we want to remove any doubt, if there’s any doubt in anyone’s mind, as to how important these relationships are to the United States and to this administration. The best way we know to show that is by coming here and listening – doing a lot of listening – and then hopefully a lot of clarification about where our mutual interests are. And certainly, we have a number of areas of mutual interest with Australia – longstanding and those are going to continue.

So very strong relationships here. The meetings were fantastic. I want to thank all of you again for what you do for us, your colleagues at the mission and what you do for us here in Sydney as well, what your family members do in supporting you in carrying out our mission, and your colleagues around the world. And I know all of you have served elsewhere, served in your careers, and we appreciate that service and the sacrifice that you make and that your families make on our behalf as well. It’s important to us that you have their support. So I’m always pleased to see family members here.

I do want to give my colleague, Secretary Mattis, an opportunity to at least greet you. He can say whatever words he’d like to. We have just a terrific Secretary of Defense here with us, and he’s such a wonderful partner to the State Department, and we work closely on a lot of these issues together.

So please, Secretary Mattis. (Applause.)

SECRETARY MATTIS: I just want to assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that not one week goes by when we’re not face to face. There’s not two days that go by, we’re not on the phones together. And the whole point that I want to give him is I want to buy time. I want to give reinforcing fires and reinforcing efforts. I want to tell him the military factors, but when he’s done, our foreign policy is in the hands of the State Department and carried out for the President with our full support over at DOD.

So we’re with you all the way and my first stop whenever I go into any country – I’ve been to about 15 already – my first stop is with the ambassador and my first question is: What can we do to support you? And we’ll stay in that mode, and if you ever see the DOD not doing that, you let me know because I don’t add stress, I create it. (Laughter.) (Inaudible) from the Secretary of State. No problem – we have the technology to do that. (Laughter.)

(Inaudible) to the Secretary’s point, just to thank you for what you do. In this age, we’re in a constant war of ideas. That’s all there is to it. And our ideas matter, and you represent them well, and there’s a lot riding on your shoulders, so you’re helpful.

But thank you very much for what you do. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Thank you all. (Applause.)

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

The Overseas Schools Advisory Council of the Department of State will hold its summer meeting on Thursday, June 15, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. in conference room 1482, Marshall Center, in the Harry S. Truman Building at 2201 C Street NW, Washington DC. The meeting will last until approximately 12:00 p.m. and is open to the public with limited seating available. This meeting will discuss the work and the support Overseas Schools Advisory Council provides to American-sponsored overseas schools. Topics will include the World Virtual School and the Child Protection Project. In addition, the Regional Education Officers will present on various activities and initiatives in American-sponsored overseas schools.

Public access to the Department of State is controlled and space is limited. Members of the public who wish to attend the meeting should telephone Dr. Keith Miller, at (202) 261-8200, by June 8, to make arrangements to attend and, if necessary, request reasonable accommodations. The public may take part in the discussion, time permitting and at the discretion of the chairman. All attendees must use the 21st Street entrance to the building.

Media Contact: Rich Barbacane, BarbacaneRF@state.gov, 202-261-8208.

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

On 5 June, Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, and Minister for Defence Senator Marise Payne, hosted U.S. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis in Sydney for the annual Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations.

AUSMIN 2017, the 27th AUSMIN meeting and the first under the Trump Administration, builds on the meeting between our leaders on May 4 in New York that demonstrated the continued closeness of the Australia-U.S. relationship. The strength and vitality of our Alliance is based on a shared commitment to freedom and democracy and has enduring importance in our respective national security, foreign and strategic policies.

Bilateral defense, security, and intelligence cooperation under the Alliance is as important today as it was when the ANZUS Treaty was signed in 1951. 2017 marks the 75^th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea and the 50^th anniversary of the Joint Defense Facility Pine Gap, with the 100^th anniversary in 2018 of Australian and U.S. forces first fighting together at the World War I Battle of Hamel. Today, both countries are working side by side in Iraq and Syria as part of the global coalition against ISIS, and continue to make military contributions to Afghanistan’s security.

Australia and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to the Alliance at AUSMIN 2017, and decided to further expand defence and security cooperation, including: a commitment to further strengthen the interoperability of our armed forces; and continued close collaboration on capability development and defence technology. We confirmed our commitment to full implementation of the U.S.-Australia Force Posture Initiatives.

Australia and the United States underlined their shared, deepening commitment to the security, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, and to strong regional organisations, especially the East Asia Summit, APEC, and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus. They urged all parties to refrain from further militarisation of disputed features, including in the South China Sea (SCS). They emphasised the importance of upholding lawful freedom of navigation and overflight and adhering to the rules-based order. They considered the 2016 award by the Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as a useful basis for further efforts to peacefully resolve disputes in the SCS. They decided to increase bilateral collaboration in relation to the Indo-Pacific, with a number of activities to be taken forward ahead of AUSMIN 2018.

Both countries condemned North Korea’s ongoing development of nuclear and missile programs and expressed their deep concern at the unacceptable threat this posed to the region and the world. They committed to working closely together and with regional partners to implement sanctions and impose costs on the regime for its destabilising behaviour and dangerous and unlawful pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Both countries discussed the importance of working with regional partners to address regional security challenges, including terrorism and the threat of returning foreign fighters, cyber threats, and maritime security, and to support regional stability and prosperity. Australia and the United States pledged to continue to strengthen their trilateral cooperation with Japan, and to enhance their engagement with our regional allies and partners. In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in the UK, the Philippines, Indonesia, and elsewhere, the United States and Australia discussed ways to work together to counter terrorism, in the region and globally.

Australia and the United States discussed our shared interest in the strength, growth and economic future of our Pacific neighbourhood. Both countries resolved to deepen bilateral dialogue on the Pacific and to strengthen cooperation with Pacific Island countries, including in the areas of maritime security, combatting trans-national threats to a secure Pacific, and APEC 2018 in Papua New Guinea.

The United States will host the next AUSMIN meeting in 2018.

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

Greetings on behalf of the United States on the occasion of the 168^th anniversary of the adoption of the Danish constitution.

The United States and Denmark have enjoyed a close partnership since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1801. Denmark’s strong support of NATO, and its valuable contributions in the fight against terrorism, promotes stability and security in Europe and around the world.

We are proud to call Denmark an ally and friend. Best wishes to all Danes as you celebrate this special day.

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