Media Note
Washington, DC
December 4, 2012

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake, Jr. is traveling to Ireland, Bangladesh, and Bhutan December 4 through December 13.

In Dublin, Assistant Secretary Blake will participate in meetings at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial. Assistant Secretary Blake will meet with OSCE interlocutors on human rights, elections, border security and anti-corruption, and hold bilateral meetings with the heads of delegations of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

From Dublin, Assistant Secretary Blake will travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 8. Assistant Secretary Blake will address the Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium. The Symposium supports the New Silk Road vision of enhancing regional economic integration and advancing economic growth, peace, and stability, by empowering women through entrepreneurship and trade. Please click here for more information on the Symposium.

While in Dhaka, Assistant Secretary Blake will also meet with Bangladeshi officials, civil society leaders, and private sector representatives to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues on labor, development, governance, and trade. He will also record an episode of the television program “A Conversation with Bangladesh.”

On December 11 Assistant Secretary Blake will travel from Bangladesh to the Kingdom of Bhutan, where he will meet with officials from the Government of Bhutan to discuss issues of mutual interest, including our support for the advancement of women and girls in South Asia.