Today, following bilateral meetings in Khartoum with Deputy Secretary of State Sullivan, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry formally announced Sudan’s commitment to sever all trade and military ties with North Korea.
Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, delivered an explanation of vote in the UN Security Council this afternoon after Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), the only independent, impartial tool the international community has to identify who is responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host discussions with foreign ministers or their representatives from the African continent, including the African Union Commission Chairman, in Washington, D.C. on November 17, 2017. The discussions will be based on three themes: trade and investment, security, and good governance. This meeting will advance the U.S. agenda, working with African partners, to promote a shared commitment to open markets; free and fair trade; democracy and the rule of law; and effective responses to global terrorist threats.
The United States and the Kingdom of Morocco, under the auspices of the Global Counterterrorism Forum and in partnership with the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, launched a global initiative to address homegrown terrorism on November 15–16, 2017.
We honor the memory of Sergey Magnitskiy, who died on November 16, 2009, while in custody in a Moscow prison. An investigation by Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council found that Magnitskiy had been severely beaten in prison, and members of the Council said his death resulted from beatings and torture by police officials.
The U.S. Department of State announced $4.3 million in funding to support energy diversification in the Caribbean. The announcement was made at the U.S. and Caribbean Prosperity Roundtable November 15 in Miami. This funding, programmed through the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources, USAID, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), will advance the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative and the Caribbean 2020 Strategy by providing energy-related technical assistance, grant funding for project preparation, and new opportunities for globally competitive U.S. energy firms and exports.
The United States supports a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma that respects the human rights of all its people. We are working to immediately address the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, strengthen Burma’s transition to democracy, expand economic opportunity, improve health and resilience of vulnerable populations, further national reconciliation, empower local communities and civil society, and strengthen respect for and protection of human rights and religious freedom.
The United States congratulates the city of Buenos Aires and the Government of Argentina for winning the right to host Expo 2023 as a result of today’s vote at the 162nd General Assembly meeting of the Bureau of International Expositions in Paris, France.
Senior diplomatic representatives from the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS met today in Jordan to review our global campaign to defeat this terrorist organization. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition Brett McGurk provided an update on progress in Iraq and Syria.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Judith Garber will travel to Bonn, Germany, November 15-17. In the absence of Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Ambassador Thomas A. Shannon, who is unable to attend due to a family emergency, Acting Assistant Secretary Garber will serve as the head of U.S. delegation to the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP-23) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change during the High-Level Segment.
