Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
     Secretary of State
Capricia Penavic Marshall
     Chief of Protocol
Diplomatic Reception Rooms
Washington, DC
January 9, 2013

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Capricia, and let me welcome all of you here to the eighth floor, and especially welcome the Rooneys. As you may have seen earlier this week, my staff gave me a personalized football helmet and jersey. They told me it was a welcome-back gift, but I suspect they also were thinking about the fact that you would be here in a few days, and we wanted to make you feel right at home. But I have chosen to forego the football gear this morning in place of this opportunity to really thank both Dan and Patricia, and to celebrate your service on behalf of the United States.

Dan Rooney is someone who never seems to miss making friends everywhere he goes, whether it’s western Pennsylvania or Ireland. And we’re delighted to have some of your friends and colleagues here for this ceremony. I want to say a special word of thanks to Patricia, who has been a fabulous support and great person in reaching out to the Irish on her own behalf alongside Dan. And Sarah, welcome here to the State Department. And we have a number of the people you’ve worked with. We knew that if we opened it to the entire State Department, we would not have a room big enough to hold everybody. MORE

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton participates in a Flag Ceremony for U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., January 9, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

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 meets with Irish President Michael D. Higgins at Aras An Uachtarain in Dublin, Ireland, December 6, 2012. [State Department photo by Maxwell’s/ Public Domain]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny after their meeting in Dublin, Ireland on December 6, 2012. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/12/201633.htm.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks entitled “Frontlines and Frontiers: Making Human Rights a Human Reality” in Dublin, Ireland on December 6, 2012. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/12/201618.htm.

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.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Prague, the Czech Republic; Brussels, Belgium; Dublin, Ireland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland December 3-7.

Secretary Clinton will travel to Prague, the Czech Republic, December 3 to meet with Czech officials on strengthening Czech energy independence, as well as advancing human rights and supporting democratic transitions around the world.

Secretary Clinton will visit Brussels, Belgium, December 4-5 to participate in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. The Secretary and her counterparts will discuss current security challenges in the Western Balkans and NATO’s global partnerships. The Secretary will participate in a foreign ministers’ meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on December 4 and of the NATO-Georgia Commission on December 5. NATO foreign ministers will also meet with their non-NATO partners… more »

Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with Tanzanian Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore at the High-Level Meeting on Nutrition and the 1,000 Days Initiative.