F.P. Report
WASHINGTON: Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman will travel to Brussels, Ankara, Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, and Honolulu May 25 to June 4.
In Brussels, the Deputy Secretary will meet with foreign counterparts representing Belgium, the EU, and NATO to discuss key policy priorities, including strengthening cooperation with allies and partners, supporting the global recovery from COVID-19, and countering the influence of challenging foreign actors. While in Brussels, Deputy Secretary Sherman will lead the first meeting of the U.S.-EU Dialogue on China with European Union External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino. The Deputy Secretary will then travel to Ankara to engage with government officials and civil society. Deputy Secretary Sherman will underscore the importance of the U.S.-Turkey relationship as we work together with our NATO Ally to confront mutual challenges, and discuss areas of concern.
From Ankara, Deputy Secretary Sherman will travel to Southeast Asia, where she will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and address a range of bilateral and regional issues, including efforts to urge the Burmese military to cease violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore Burma to the path of democracy. In Jakarta, she will meet Indonesian government officials to discuss the growing U.S.-Indonesia partnership and how the two countries can collaborate to address regional challenges. While in Jakarta, she will also meet with officials from the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives to discuss expanding and deepening the U.S.-ASEAN strategic partnership. In Phnom Penh, the Deputy Secretary will hold a series of meetings. In Bangkok, the Deputy Secretary will meet with Thai government officials to discuss U.S.-Thai security cooperation, expanding economic ties, promoting fundamental freedoms, Mekong regional issues, the crisis in Burma, and deepening cultural ties between the American and Thai people.
Finally, in Honolulu, Deputy Secretary Sherman will meet with officials at INDOPACOM to discuss U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific.
