About the Author: Timothy Neely serves as Environment, Science, Technology and Health Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.

Do you know which country’s constitution promises that a minimum of 60 percent its land area will be maintained as forest for all time? Which country’s government pledges to protect, conserve, and improve the pristine environment and safeguard the biodiversity of the country; prevent pollution and ecological degradation; secure ecologically balanced sustainable development while promoting justifiable economic and social development; and ensure a safe and healthy environment? The answer is the Kingdom of Bhutan, a small Himalayan country located between China and India. Bhutan’s use of a “Gross National Happiness” index to measure progress, rather than GDP, is well-known, but fewer people know of the importance that Bhutan attaches to conserving its natural environment and biodiversity.

The Second Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation held in Thimphu, Bhutan… more »

In Cambodia, President Obama’s final stop on his trip to Asia, the President met with the leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) to deepen our ties with members of the key Asian multilateral organization.

ASEAN is the United States’ fourth largest export market, and includes two of our treaty allies, one of our closest security partners, several emerging regional powers. Additionally, its nations are located along some of the world’s most important trading routes and sea lines of communication. 

While in Phnom Penh, President Obama also attended the East Asia Summit, a gathering of leaders from ASEAN as well as six other Asia-Pacific powers. The United States’ economic and security future is inextricably linked to the… more »

U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for a bilateral meeting during the East Asia Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 20, 2012. President Obama is the first U.S. President to visit Cambodia. [State Department photo by William Ng/ Public Domain]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton participates in the ASEAN-United States Leaders’ Meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 19, 2012. [State Department photo by William Ng/Public Domain]

More: Trip Page | Interactive Travel Map

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Perth and Adelaide, Australia; Singapore; Bangkok, Thailand; Rangoon, Burma; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia November 11-20, 2012.

On November 11, Secretary Clinton will travel to Perth, Australia to join U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, and Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith for the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) to discuss security cooperation and other regional and global issues. In Perth, Secretary Clinton will meet with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister Bob Carr. She will also visit the… more »

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 9, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Perth and Adelaide, Australia; Singapore; Bangkok, Thailand; Rangoon, Burma; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia November 11-20, 2012.

On November 11, Secretary Clinton will travel to Perth, Australia to join U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, and Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith for the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) to discuss security cooperation and other regional and global issues. In Perth, Secretary Clinton will meet with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister Bob Carr. She will also visit the new Western Australia – United States & Asia Centre (USAC). She will then travel to Adelaide where she will meet with Australian business leaders as well as visit Techport Australia, Australia’s largest and most advanced shipbuilding facility.

Secretary Clinton will travel to Singapore on November 16-17 to meet with senior government officials, including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, on a wide range of issues.

On November 17, Secretary Clinton will travel to Bangkok, Thailand. She will join President Obama and his delegation on November 18 for meetings with Prime Minister Yingluck and other senior Thai officials to underscore our strong alliance and discuss shared priorities and regional issues in advance of the ASEAN East Asia Summit.

Secretary Clinton will accompany President Obama to Burma on November 19, and join his meetings with Burmese President Thein Sein and Chair of the National League for Democracy and Member of Parliament Aung San Suu Kyi.

Secretary Clinton will also accompany President Obama on his travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia November 19-20 to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting and the East Asia Summit.

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 25, 2012

Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones will travel to Thailand and Cambodia September 25 – October 3.

In Thailand, Dr. Jones will represent the United States at the 3^rd East Asia Summit Environment Ministers Meeting. She will meet with officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. She will additionally hold a meeting with the non-governmental organization FREELAND to discuss the illegal trade in wildlife.

In Cambodia, Dr. Jones will discuss wildlife management issues with government officials.

About the Author: Tom Weinz serves as the dedicated Foreign Service Officer for Pacific Partnership 2012.

Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12), the seventh annual iteration of the humanitarian exercise begun by the U.S. Navy following the tragic 2004 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Banda Aceh on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra, ended officially when the USNS Mercy departed Sihanoukville, Cambodia on August 11.

The mission to Cambodia was a marvelous example of all of the external personnel on Mercy coordinating seamlessly with our U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh personnel to provide an impressively geographically diverse mission. There is an excellent piece by two PP12 female helicopter pilots, as well as a video clip summarizing efforts in Cambodia, on the PP12 blog site.

Because Sihanoukville… more »

About the Author: Robert D. Hormats serves as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.

On the Fourth of July, I wrote an entry celebrating the “American Brand.” I feel even more strongly about the importance and value of the “American Brand” after a recent trip to South East Asia and the Middle East.

I traveled throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, and Burma with businessmen and women from over 50 of America’s best companies seeking opportunities to increase trade and investment in the region. The delegations — which were organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council — met with Secretary Clinton and senior foreign business leaders and government officials, including several heads of state.

Our delegations were enthusiastically greeted in every country we visited. Business and government leaders there recognized… more »

About the Author: Tom Weinz serves as the dedicated Foreign Service Officer for Pacific Partnership 2012.

Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12) has arrived in Cambodia, the final host nation for this year’s mission. American Charge d’affaires Jeff Daigle welcomed participants at the opening ceremony on July 29 in Sihanoukville and emphasized PP12’s contribution to overall USG efforts in the kingdom. Rear Admiral Russell Penniman and Vice Admiral Tea Vinh spoke for the U.S. Navy and Royal Cambodian Ministry of Defense respectively. Vice Admiral Vinh offered his country’s appreciation for both the initial Pacific Partnership visit to Sihanoukville in 2010 and the current mission.

Transportation logistics is the key challenge to the Cambodian effort, as PP12 will operate along two major corridors running between the port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s second city, and the capital of Phnom Penh about five hours to the northeast. PP12’s two SH-60 helicopters have been working steadily… more »