Tag Archives: EU

U.S. Support for Liu / The Côte d’Ivoire Vote / Seeds of Peace

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Days before he is to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States is supporting jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. The U.S. calls for a smooth transition of power after elections in Côte d’Ivoire. In the past couple of weeks, the U.S. has participated in five European summits. Mobile phones are giving people access to financial systems in Africa for the first time. An American educator will be speaking about higher education in Africa. And, an unlikely friendship grows from Seeds of Peace.

U.S. Backs Jailed Nobel Winner
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Barry White, the U.S. ambassador to Norway, will attend the December 10 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in a show of support for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. The U.S. House of Representatives has also passed a resolution honoring the Peace Prize winner for promoting democratic reform in China and calling for his immediate release from prison. At right, a banner picturing Liu is installed at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo.

The Côte d’Ivoire Vote
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The U.S. urges President Laurent Gbagbo to hand over power and authority to Alassane Ouattara, who won the second round of Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election. If that does not happen, the U.S. will take further steps such as travel bans or sanctions directed against President Gbagbo, his family and associates, says U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson.

For U.S., Five European Summits
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The United States participated in five summits over the past couple of weeks, engaging with nations from Europe, Central Asia and North America. These summits presented “an unprecedented opportunity for engagement with our partners in Europe and Eurasia,” says Philip Gordon, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.

Mobilizing African Banking
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In African countries such as Tanzania and Malawi, mobile telephones are taking a first step into the formal financial system. Almost 1 million active customers in Tanzania use mobile-phone payments to transfer funds to relatives, buy supplies, pay doctors and save money for future emergencies.

A Moroccan Higher Ed Conference
Barbara Brittingham, president of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, will be a featured speaker alongside leading Moroccan and international experts and officials at the Moroccan Fulbright Alumni Association’s annual conference.

Seeds of Peace Take Root
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Seeds of Peace is an organization that brings teens from conflict areas around the world to a summer camp in Maine, U.S.A., where they foster trust, understanding and communication. For Joseph Katona, left, a Jewish kid from Los Angeles, and Omar Dreidi, a Palestinian kid from Ramallah, it meant a lasting friendship.

Obama and NATO / A U.S.-E.U. Energy Agreement / Nueva York

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President Obama attends the NATO and U.S.-E.U. Summits in Lisbon and discusses relations with Europe in an op-ed. The U.S.-EU Energy Council comes up with an alternative energy agreement. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will attend a European security summit next month. The U.S. Navy launches a Persian Gulf rescue. The U.S. and Russia want to save an endangered big cat. And finally, check out a photo gallery about Nueva York.

The U.S.-E.U. Relationship
President Obama praised the U.S.-European relationship for its deep cooperation and close ties as he arrived in Lisbon for the 2010 NATO Summit and U.S.-European Union Summit. Obama, right, added that these summits offer “an opportunity to deepen our cooperation even further and to ensure that NATO—the most successful alliance in human history—remains as relevant in this century as it was in the last.”  

Obama on Europe and America
As he arrives in Lisbon for the NATO and U.S.-European Union Summits, President Barack Obama calls America’s relationship with Europe “the cornerstone of our engagement with the world” in this op-ed. 

A U.S.-E.U. Energy Agreement
The U.S.-EU Energy Council agrees to enhance coordinated efforts to find additional sources of energy and to coordinate research and regulations. The deal was announced on the sidelines of the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton.

Clinton to Join OSCE Summit
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will attend the 2010 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Summit December 1-2 in Kazakhstan, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake says.

U.S. Navy Rescues Iranian Sailors
U.S. Navy sailors come to the assistance of two stranded Iranian mariners in the Persian Gulf, providing them with care until they could be picked up by an Iranian coast guard vessel.

Teaming Up to Save the Tiger
The United States, Russia and others are meeting at the 2010 International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, November 21–25 to find new ways to protect the world’s ever-dwindling population of tigers.

Photo Gallery: Nueva York (1613-1945)
This fall, the exhibit “Nueva York (1613-1945)” will document four centuries of cross-cultural influence and cooperation between Latin America and Spain and New York. This photo gallery shows some of the pieces on display in the exhibit. At right, a baseball used by Esteban Bellán, who in 1869 became the first Latin American ballplayer to play in the major leagues.

President Obama in Portugal for NATO Summit

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First Asia, now Europe. After a whirlwind tour of India, Indonesia, Korea, and Japan, President Obama is now in Lisbon, Portugal to meet with his Allied counterparts at the NATO Summit. While there, he will also attend the U.S.–European Union Summit.

NATO has a number of issues on its agenda for this Summit, including developing a plan to begin the gradual phase out of U.S. forces and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, approving a new Strategic Concept that forms the blueprint for future NATO operations, and discussing plans for a limited missile defense system for Europe.

In an opinion piece in the International Herald Tribune yesterday the president said about Europe:

“With no other region does the United States have such a close alignment of values, interests, capabilities and goals…. Neither Europe nor the United States can confront the challenges of our time without the other. These summits are thus an opportunity to deepen our cooperation even further and to ensure that NATO — the most successful alliance in human history — remains as relevant in this century as it was in the last.”

Do you agree with President Obama’s assertion that neither Europe nor the United States can confront today’s challenges without the either?

The NATO and U.S.-E.U. Summits / Fighting Cholera in Haiti / Persian Poetry in New York

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President Obama heads to the NATO and U.S.-E.U. Summits in Lisbon, Portugal. Learn what the United States is doing to help Haiti battle a cholera outbreak. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton releases a study on religious freedom and discusses the importance of protecting Americans traveling overseas. According to a new report, Asian water supplies are at risk. A top U.S. terrorism official says cooperation among nations has been successful in fighting terrorism. A group of African journalists discuss professional issues. And, in New York City, a museum displays linkages between New York and the Spanish world, while a bar showcases Persian poetry.

Upcoming NATO and EU Summits
President Obama, right, will be attending the 2010 NATO and U.S.-European Union Summits in Lisbon on November 19th and 20th. The meetings are intended to demonstrate the central role of the United States’ relationship with Europe and the U.S.-European capability to meet global challenges.



An “Aggressive Campaign” Against Cholera
U.S. officials promise an “aggressive campaign” to help Haitian authorities fight the spread of cholera in their country through prevention techniques such as providing clean, chlorinated drinking water, oral rehydration therapy, education and additional funding to expand cholera treatment centers.

Religious Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy
Promoting religious freedom is a core element of U.S. diplomacy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says in releasing the 2010 Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom.

Protecting Americans Overseas
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says it is important for the State Department and the American private sector to cooperate on protecting Americans who travel overseas.

Asian Water Supplies at Risk
A new report from the U.S. Agency for International Development outlines steps that can help mitigate the impacts of climate-change-induced glacier melt in the greater Himalayas area.

Nations Team Up Against Terror
Cooperation among nations fighting the global war on terror has been remarkable in the nine years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, says Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s top counterterrorism official.

African Journalists in the U.S.
African journalists visiting the United States as part of the fifth Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists have a lot to say about professional standards and freedom of the press as they finished their three-week stay in the United States.

Spanish Connections in NY
This fall, the exhibit “Nueva York (1613-1945),” a collaboration of El Museo Del Barrio and the New-York Historical Society, will document four centuries of cross-cultural influence and cooperation between Latin America and Spain and New York.

In NY, New Persian Poetry
Since beginning five years ago, the Persian Arts Festival in New York has grown to offer music, films and other visual arts as well as literary events. Its audience is “very diverse,” says founder Mona Kayhan, including many people with no personal connection to Iran or Persian culture. At right, Sholeh Wolpé reads aloud from her work at the festival. 

U.S.-Pakistan Talks || The Power of Small Reactors || Six Women Environmentalists Honored

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The U.S. and Pakistan are about to renew their strategic dialogue; read what’s on the agenda. The U.S. and EU need to re-engage on global challenges. On nuclear power, small reactors offer solutions. For teaching math, Russian schools in the U.S. find success. And finally, women environmentalists are honored for their local leadership.

Renewed U.S.-Pakistan Dialogue
The upcoming U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue will cover a wide variety of topics ranging from health and energy to defense cooperation, but focus heavily on Pakistan’s flooding disaster, according to a State Department official. The U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the Pakistani delegation, led by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, previously met in Islamabad in July.

U.S., EU Seek Engagement Agenda
In advance of the United States attending three major summits with European allies, Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon says that when the U.S. joins forces with Europe on the challenges of the global agenda, both become “vastly stronger” in legitimacy, resources and ideas.

Thinking Small on Nuclear Power
Small, modular nuclear reactors, some the size of shipping containers, offer solutions to a wide range of power challenges worldwide. They can work as independent units in remote and off-grid locations; can replace coal-burning power plants; and can work in desert areas, as they do not require water for cooling. Plus, they are economical.

In U.S., Russian Math Schools
Some immigrant parents think that math, as taught in the United States, is too easy. Therefore, in 1997, a group of Boston-area Russian immigrants opened the Russian School of Mathematics, which places an emphasis on encouraging individual problem solving.

Honoring Women Environmentalists
Six women from around the world were honored by the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues and the U.S. State Department for taking initiative and in some cases assuming personal risks to repair environmental damage in their respective communities while inspiring others through their leadership. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero described the women, at left, as “true giants” for the positive impact they have had on their communities.

Day 70: Preparing to take the international stage

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Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
Tomorrow marks the beginning of something First 100 Days’ author has been eagerly awaiting since January 20: Barack Obama’s first major international trip. Many Americans have high expectations for this trip, as do audiences overseas.

The president, who left today for London with his wife Michelle, has a packed agenda. Tomorrow he will meet with world leaders including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao. But the meeting that perhaps will generate the most buzz is the one between the Obamas and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, as they sit down for tea.

On April 2, the president participates in the G20 summit of advanced and emerging market economies. Then he’s off to Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany for the 60th anniversary NATO summit April 3-4. This is followed by a stop in Prague, Czech Republic for an EU summit and a day in Ankara and Instanbul, Turkey, April 6.

For a more detailed preview of the president’s travels, see “Obama Heads to Europe with Extensive Schedule.”

Are you as excited about this trip as I am? What are your expectations of Obama? Post your comments below and keep checking First 100 Days and America.gov for the latest updates.