F.P Report
WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Blinken will travel to Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, Republic of Korea, March 15th to the 18th to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to strengthening our alliances and to highlight cooperation that promotes peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world, U.S State Department press release mentioned, Friday.
Providing more details he remarked that on March 16th through the 18th in Tokyo, Secretary Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin will attend the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee, or 2+2 meeting, hosted by Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi. Secretary Blinken will meet with Minister Motegi and other senior officials to discuss a range of bilateral and global issues.
Secretary Blinken will also meet virtually with business leaders to highlight the importance of U.S.-Japan economic ties and shared priorities, addressing climate change, securing supply chains, promoting and protecting emerging technologies, fostering digital trade, and recovering from COVID-19, official spokesperson pointed out.
Ned price also mentioned that he will have a discussion with women entrepreneurs on the challenges women face in building successful businesses. Secretary Blinken will also host a virtual roundtable with emerging Japanese journalists to discuss the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance, the role of a free press in promoting good governance and defending democracy, and the widespread benefits from advancing gender equity and opportunities for women worldwide, official press release added.
Regarding further visits, he mentioned that on March 17th through the 18th in Seoul, Secretary Blinken will attend – Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin will attend a U.S.-ROK Foreign and Defense Ministerial, or 2+2 again, hosted by the ROK’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Foreign – and Minister of Defense Suh Wook. Secretary Blinken will meet with Foreign Minister Chung and other senior officials to discuss issues of bilateral and global importance.
Secretary Blinken will also meet virtually with Korean youth leaders and host a virtual roundtable of emerging Korean journalists to discuss the importance of the U.S.-ROK alliance in promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the globe, Ned Price commented.
Ned Price remarked that, the State Department has taken decisive action against violent extremism by designating ISIS-Democratic Republic of the Congo and ISIS-Mozambique as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or SDGDTs for short, he said.
Seka Musa Baluku, leader of ISIS-DRC, and Abu Yasir Hassan, leader of ISIS-Mozambique, have also been designated as SDGTs under Executive Order 13224, the spokesperson mentioned.
ISIS-Mozambique’s violent extremist insurgency has wreaked havoc in the country’s Cabo Delgado province and has killed more than 1,300 civilians. ISIS-Mozambique’s continued attacks have caused the displacement of nearly 670,000 persons within Mozambique, he mentioned.
Pouring out more details, he further remarked that this designation is an important step in the global fight to defeat ISIS. The United States will continue to expose and isolate terrorists, disrupt their support networks, deny them access to the U.S. financial system, and do everything in our power to preserve the security of the United States, he added.
Mentioning PRC’s policies, Price emphasized that, “We have consistently and oftentimes in harmony with our allies and partners spoken up in defense of our allies and to condemn the PRC’s affronts to many of these shared and even universal values, whether that’s in Xinjiang, whether that’s in Hong Kong as a moment ago whether that’s in Taiwan.
He further added that, “We recognize that Quad members are uniquely positioned to help lead the region out of crises and to help move the region towards the more positive vision we all seek, both to address these crises and to seize these opportunities that are presented to all of us collectively”.
During the press conference, Ned Price also shed light over Egypt, saying that it plays an important role in promoting some of our key interests in the region: regional security and stability through the guardianship of the Suez Canal; counterterrorism cooperation; and its leadership in promoting Middle East peace.
Ned Price also stated that, we have deep concerns about the human rights situation in Egypt, including undue restrictions on civil society, undue restrictions on freedom of expression.
Moreover, he also commented on the African policy, saying that this administration is committed to not only sustaining but also deepening the partnerships we have across the continent of Africa, all parts of the continent.
Importantly, State Department spokesperson highlighted the Afghanistan dynamics, saying that we recognize Russia as well as other countries in the region, we recognize that they have an important stake in a secure and stable Afghanistan.
We have met in the past with Russia in support of the Afghanistan peace process, but we don’t have anything to announce at this time when it comes to any meetings, he mentioned.
Commenting on Afghanistan and its neighbours interests, saying that, Afghanistan’s neighbors, other countries in the region have a role to play.
They certainly have an interest in a peaceful, in a stable Afghanistan, and that is precisely what we are and Special Representative Khalilzad is in the region now, in Doha, seeking to bring about, he mentioned.
He’s focused on bringing and achieving progress on a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire towards that end. He’s looking at ways to move the diplomacy forward, and as we have said, he has shared ideas with Afghans on both sides, with both negotiating parties, Price remarked.
Any proposal that the United States would endorse has one requirement: that it be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned at its core, spokesperson mentioned.
He further reaffirmed that U.S believes that is an essential component to a just and durable peace, adding that we recognize that for any peace to be durable, it must be just, and for any peace to be just, in many ways, it must be durable.
Commenting on prolonged Syrian conflict he mentioned that U.S will continue to promote a political settlement to end the conflict in Syria. We’re doing that in close consultation with our allies, with our partners, with the UN special envoy, Price stated.
A political settlement must address the factors that drive the violence, that drive the instability in Syria. U.S uses a variety of tools at our disposal to push for a sustainable end to the Syrian people’s suffering.
We also seek to restore American leadership when it comes to humanitarian aid, he mentioned.
State Department spokesperson also remarked that Bashar al-Assad has not done anything that would restore his legitimacy. He has been at the center of the suffering of the Syrian people, the humanitarian disaster, he said.
Ned Price also commented on the Mozambique crises saying that, U.S will continue to engage Mozambican authorities on the importance of respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
