About the Author: Katie G. Kirkpatrick is a program analyst in the Under Secretary of Management’s Office of Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation. She also serves as the events and outreach coordinator for the State Department’s Greening CouncilWorking Group.

Earlier this month, in recognition of the United Nation’s World Environment Day, the D.C. Greening Embassies Forum brought together foreign embassies and international institutions with solution providers who can help them achieve their energy and sustainability goals.

The D.C. Greening Embassies Forum is comprised of the diplomatic community in our nation’s capital, and brings together the sustainability priorities of the city of Washington, D.C., with those of the foreign missions who rely upon the city’s resources. The State Department’s Greening Council helped facilitate the first-ever charter among these foreign embassies, which states that its signatories will strive to make their buildings and operations more sustainable, will support the city’s efforts, and will share best practices on greening and sustainability.

The Forum’s World Environment Day… more »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers opening remarks at the 2012 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum to mark Global Economic Statecraft Day at the U.S. Department if State in Washington, D.C. on June 14, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

About the Author: Jennifer Young and Michelle Cook serve at the U.S. Consulate in Calgary, Canada.

American companies flooded into the Calgary Stampede grounds in record numbers this week to promote their goods and services at the Global Petroleum Show. With 65,000 thousand participants, the GPS, as it is commonly known, is now the world’s largest energy sector trade event. To support invigorated economic statecraft, staff from the U.S. Consulate Calgary were on hand to support U.S. companies’ efforts to increase trade with Canada as well as identify joint venture partners, distributors and investors.

Nearly 300 U.S. companies exhibited at the show, 75 of them part of the official U.S. Pavilion hosted by the U.S. Commercial Service in Calgary. With delegations from Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma,… more »

About the Author: Hannah Johnson serves as an Assistant Editor for DipNote.

The week’s “Photo of the Week” comes to us from Nathan Arnold, the Communications Officer for the Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and shows Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton greeting participants at the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. on June 14, 2012.

Nathan, the photograph, said of the event, “Prior to Secretary Clinton entering the room to greet the AWEP participants, you could feel the energy in the air. Many of the 47 women had brought samples from their successful textile businesses back home. When the Secretary entered the room,… more »

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
June 14, 2012

The Department of State today released its Investment Climate Statements for 2012 as part of Global Economic Statecraft Day. These statements contain updated investment climate information compiled by our missions and posts abroad for approximately 170 economies, with investment-related developments, foreign direct investment data, and rankings from internationally-recognized indices. This year’s statements showcase many examples of economies improving their investment climates and opening their doors to U.S. investment.

The Investment Climate Statements represent a critical component of Secretary Clinton’s Economic Statecraft agenda as we seek to ensure that U.S. companies can invest on fair terms in overseas markets. The Investment Climate Statements help identify the barriers and market distortions that too often deter U.S. investment, provide U.S. investors with the information they need to better assess business risks, and serve as a basis for engaging foreign governments on modernizing investment regimes. U.S. economic growth will increasingly rely on our ability to compete and win overseas. MORE

About the Author: About the Author: Andrew J. Shapiro is the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.

Promoting U.S. business abroad and expanding U.S. exports is a top priority of the State Department and the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM). Our work in the PM Bureau to expand defense trade with our allies and partners is critical to America’s national security and our economic prosperity and is an important part of the State Department’s economic statecraft efforts.

At the State Department, we advocate tirelessly on behalf of U.S. companies abroad — and I have the frequent flier miles to prove it. It is no longer just our Ambassadors who promote U.S. defense trade. Senior State Department officials regularly advocate on behalf of U.S. bidders on foreign government and foreign military procurements.… more

Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
June 14, 2012

“Our problems have never respected dividing lines between global economics and international diplomacy. And neither can our solutions. That is why I have put what I call economic statecraft at the heart of our foreign policy agenda.” – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Global Economic Statecraft: Finding Economic Solutions to the World’s Problems

Connecting Businesses and Creating Jobs: We are championing U.S. business abroad and encouraging our partners to invest here and create American jobs.

• The Direct Line – This program directly connects U.S. companies with our ambassadors and their economic teams in key markets, driving exports.
• SelectUSA – In partnership with the Department of Commerce, our embassies are recruiting foreign companies to expand to the United States. Investments by overseas business into our states and cities employ more than five million Americans.
• Fifty States in Fifty Days – We have an integrated social media campaign supported by 100 Embassy websites to promote each of the 50 states as an attractive tourist destination. Visit: www.DiscoverAmerica.com
• Online Business Tools – Embassy websites now have business tools online to make it easier for the American businesses to connect to opportunities overseas.
• Hometown Diplomats – We are deploying diplomats to visit their hometowns to explain how local companies can connect with markets overseas and attract foreign investment to their communities. MORE

About the Author: Thomas R. Nides serves as the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources at the U.S. Department of State.

Most Americans think of diplomacy as a discussion of war and peace. But diplomacy is also a matter of dollars and cents (and euro and Yen). In today’s interconnected world, foreign policy challenges are inseparable from economic ones. A strong economy is the foundation of America’s strength in the world, and our diplomacy can and must be a force for our economic renewal.

That is why the State Department has redoubled its efforts at the nexus of economics and diplomacy — what we call “Economic Statecraft.” Today, which Secretary Clinton has declared the first-ever Global Economic Statecraft Day, American embassies and consulates around the world are seizing the opportunity to channel the collective might of diplomats, development experts, and businesspeople to… more »