More: Photos From the Trip

Following a busy Tuesday at NATO, Secretary of State John Kerry continued to meet with foreign leaders in Brussels today. Secretary Kerry began this morning with “an expansive conservation” with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, before he met with Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze and then held a dialogue with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. His meetings covered an extensive range of topics, from the importance of trade negotiations to security… more »

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks after the NATO Ministerial in Brussels, Belgium on April 23, 2013. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/04/207890.htm

About the Author: David Siefkin serves as Public Affairs Advisor at the U.S. Mission to NATO.

This morning, Secretary of State John Kerry arrived at NATO to take his seat for the first time at the North Atlantic Council, the governing body of NATO, as ministers of the 28 Allies converged to discuss some of the world’s most sensitive questions. Secretary Kerry strode past the cameras and photographers, as journalists pleaded with him in French to make a comment. “Apres, après,” Kerry said, “afterwards.”

The atmosphere inside the meeting room was somber, as developments in Syria and Korea were on the morning agenda. Just before the meeting began, NATO Secretary-General Rasmussen told the journalists outside, “We can see that the situation in Syria is getting worse. We cannot ignore the risks of a regional spill-over with possible implications for Allied security.… more »

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 7, 2013

In The Hague, Assistant Secretary Gordon will meet with senior Dutch officials to discuss topics of regional and global concern and to underscore support for Dutch security missions around the world.

Assistant Secretary Gordon will travel to London on January 9, where he will meet with senior British government officials to discuss a range of bilateral and global issues . At the start of the United Kingdom’s G8 presidency, Assistant Secretary Gordon will also meet with senior officials to review our broad cooperation in that forum, as well as in the G20, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the European Union (EU).

On January 10 and 11 in Dublin, Assistant Secretary Gordon will meet with senior Irish government officials to discuss bilateral and global issues. He will also meet with EU Political Directors as part of regular consultations with the EU to discuss issues on the transatlantic and global agendas.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses reporters at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 5, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

About the Author: Seth McNayr serves at the U.S. Mission to NATO.

On December 4, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Brussels for her ninth and final NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, began a typically industrious day by meeting with Department of State staff and families downtown at the U.S. Embassy in Belgium. Next, she moved across town to NATO Headquarters, arriving at mid-day and meeting immediately with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. She then conducted her first bilateral meeting with her Bulgarian counterpart, Nikolay Mladenov.

Secretary Clinton then joined other NATO Foreign Ministers for a working lunch of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), including Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, where many topics of strategic interest were discussed. Afghanistan, in particular, is an area where NATO and Russia have found ways to cooperate in recent years, through such initiatives as joint counter-terrorism and… more »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks following ministerial meetings at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on December 5, 2012. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/12/201547.htm.

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Embassy Brussels, Chief of Mission Residence
Brussels, Belgium
December 4, 2012

SECRETARY CLINTON: (Applause.) Thank you. It is truly both an honor and a great pleasure to be here with all of you in this extraordinary tripartite mission that has done so much and accomplished such a great deal in the last four years. I want to begin, of course, to thank our ambassadors here in Brussels Ivo, Bill, and Howard, or as Howard likes to say, the intelligent one, the dignified one, and the good-looking one. (Laughter.) But I’ll leave it to all of you to decide. (Laughter.)

But I’m sure you will find agreement because the three of these extraordinary ambassadors have worked so well together. And I also want to thank Elisa, Deborah, and Michelle because they have been terrific partners and representatives of our country as well. So I think we should give a round of applause to our ambassadors and (inaudible). (Applause.)

Now I am pleased to be back in Brussels. I am sad that this will be my last official trip, but I am very gratified by the extraordinary working relationship that all of you have had here in Brussels and that we have had across the Atlantic. Let me start by saying a few words about Embassy Brussels because I think Howard was absolutely right in specifically stating that the work of Embassy Brussels has fortified our relationship, has built greater mutual understanding and respect. MORE

About the Author: Ivo H. Daalder serves as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Our goals at this Ministerial are clear and simple: to support our ally Turkey by moving toward a deployment of Patriot Missiles to augment their air defenses, to help them protect their people and population; to broaden our cooperation and political dialogue with Russia; to strengthen our partnerships with other countries, including Georgia; and with all our ISAF partners, to monitor our progress toward successful transition in Afghanistan by 2014.

In addition to the goals, however, this Ministerial is noteworthy, because of Secretary Clinton. This is her 38th trip to Europe since becoming Secretary of State; and her ninth and last NATO Ministerial.

She has left… more »