#usdepartmentofstate

[lifestylebymimi]

US Upgrades Travel Warning for Saint Lucia https://www.newsweek.com/us-upgrades-travel-warning-for-saint-lucia-12192380?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[lifestylebymimi]

U.S. Travel Advisories For September 2025: Key Destinations Affected And What Tourists Need To Know http://is.gd/HVsWVzS

[goldiers1]

US and Philippines Joint Press Statements

    Transcript of the Press Conference (Inc. Q&A's)

SECRETARY BLINKEN:   Well, good afternoon, everyone.  Secretary Manalo, Secretary Galvez, it has been an honor to host you at the State Department for the third ever – and first since 2016 – U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial alongside Secretary of Defense Austin.  Today’s meeting builds on the momentum of the high-level U.S. visits to the Philippines just over the past year, including by Vice President Harris, by Secretary Austin, and myself. The Philippines is the United States’ oldest ally in the Indo-Pacific.  Our relationship is based on the shared interests and values of Americans and Filipinos, including our abiding commitment to democracy.  For decades, we’ve worked together to promote peace and stability across the region, and we’re growing that effective partnership in scale and scope every single day, including through very productive, very rich discussions today. Our security alliance is an enduring source of strength for both of our nations.  Today, we focused on ways to continue our close partnership under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement so that our forces can work even more closely together, including to provide humanitarian assistance and respond to disasters. Secretary Austin and I also reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to standing with the Philippines against any intimidation or coercion, including in the South China Sea, and to preserving a region that’s governed by international law where goods and ideas and people can move freely. We also discussed deepening our robust economic ties, including through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.  We’re working closely with other IPEF partners to build out this framework to help our economies grow faster and fairer so that all our people can reach their full potential, lead on issues shaping the 21st-century economy, and do it in a way that is sustainable for our planet. One way that we’re putting our partnership through IPEF to work is by collaborating to increase economic opportunities for women and girls in the Philippines.  We’re providing training in growing industries like data science and artificial intelligence, where women have been under-represented, and boosting digital literacy rates. And more broadly, as we discussed today, we’re committed to expanding our economic cooperation across the board.  Indeed, we discussed a number of areas where we can deepen our collaboration, cooperation in pursuit of that goal. Together, we’re stepping up to address global challenges that no country can solve alone.  We discussed our shared efforts to combat the climate crisis and strengthen energy security.  The United States is committed to helping the Philippines reach its ambitious goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030. To do that, the U.S. Government and critically, the private sector, are supporting the growth of the offshore wind market, the development of nickel and cobalt facilities that will help the Philippines sustainable process – sustainably process minerals essential to the clean energy transition. We’re also providing technical assistance and regulatory guidance to support the growth of the Philippines’ civil nuclear energy program.  We’re looking to grow our cooperation through a 123 agreement on civil nuclear cooperation which will make it easier for us to share technical knowledge as well as nuclear material and equipment. We’re delivering solutions to the food security challenges impacting the Philippines like so many other countries. Philippines-based companies, with the support of the United States Government and the American private sector, are making impressive progress in developing climate-smart food systems, increasing their productivity, and the sustainability of their supply chains. We’re looking forward to continuing this progress at the inaugural U.S.-Philippines Food Security Dialogue a little bit later this year. We’re able to do this work not only because of the partnership between our governments but also because of the partnership between our peoples.  This year, we’re celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Program in the Philippines, the longest running Fulbright Program in the world. More than 22,000 Filipinos have come to the United States through the Fulbright and other U.S. exchange programs, enriching our communities with their perspectives and experiences, innovating and launching businesses, building enduring bonds between our people – bonds that to this day renew and revitalize the friendship between our countries. Across all of these areas and more, the United States values and is proud of our robust and deepening partnership with the Philippines.  Secretary Austin and I appreciated the opportunity to discuss in-depth how we’ll make this essential relationship even stronger in the months and years ahead. So really grateful to our colleagues for being here today, grateful to their teams at the hard work that’s been done, but not grateful simply for their presence but also the spirit in which together we are working to strengthen the bonds between our countries. Ricky, over to you. FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO:  Thank you very much, Tony.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Senior Undersecretary and OIC Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.  I’m very pleased to be here in Washington and to address all of you today. Some of you were with Secretary Blinken when we held our first meeting in our current capacities in Manila last August.  We agreed then to work together in sustaining the positive momentum and trajectory of Philippine-U.S. relations, including by reconvening our 2+2 ministerial dialogue in 2023. And I’m happy to report that we have in fact followed through on that commitment. Today is only the third iteration of our dialogue in the 2+2 format since it was established in 2012.  After a seven-year gap since the second meeting in 2016, this meeting holds particular significance as it further reaffirms our shared commitment to advancing our common priorities as treaty allies and close partners amidst evolving regional and global security challenges. The joint statement we will issue today, and the various areas it covers, demonstrates the breadth and depth of our bilateral relationship.  We have reached a number of key understandings that the Philippines believes will truly elevate our relationship and translate into direct, substantial, and tangible benefits for our peoples and countries. At today’s meeting, we redoubled our commitment to modernizing the Philippine-U.S. alliance, recognizing that our partnership will need to play a stronger role in preserving an international law-based international order. This means ensuring the conduct of high-level and high-impact, high-value joint exercises, trainings, and other related activities. We especially welcome the United States pledge to fast-track and to ramp up support for the modernization of our defense, civilian law enforcement, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities, especially in the maritime domain, as well as the implementation of EDCA projects and investments in and around EDCA-agreed locations. I wish to point out that we also underscored the importance of equally ensuring that our modern alliance not only serves as an instrument as peace, but it shall also be a force for good that brings about sustained economic benefits to our two countries, down to our local communities. Our discussions and proposed ways forwards are aligned with the Philippines’ priorities on agriculture, food security, promoting energy security as we transition to clean energy, boosting trade, and building resilience of our supply chains, as well as enhancing connectivity and digitalization. Our discussions focused also on areas such as economic cooperation, climate change, renewable energy, economic resilience, and economic security. Thank you. SECRETARY AUSTIN: Well, good afternoon.  Secretary Blinken, Secretary Manalo, and Secretary Galvez, I’m honored to be here with you today for the third U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.  As you’ve heard, this is the first of its kind in seven years. But first, let me just say a few words about the story that I know many of you are tracking.  I was first briefed on the reports of unauthorized disclosure of sensitive and classified material on the morning of April 6th.  And since then, I have been convening senior department leaders daily on our response, and I have directed an urgent cross-department effort. And we’ve referred the matter to the Department of Justice, which has opened a criminal investigation.  Now, I can’t say much more while the Justice Department’s investigation is ongoing, but we take this very seriously.  And we will continue to work closely with our outstanding allies and partners, and nothing will ever stop us from keeping America secure. Now, let me turn to today’s important discussions.  We’ve come together at an historic moment in our alliance.  For more than seven decades, the U.S. and Philippine forces have trained and fought alongside each other. And today we’re building on those bonds to bring greater security, stability, and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific for the next 70 years and beyond.  The commitments that we made today will spur even deeper cooperation to help ensure that we’re poised to tackle the defining challenges of our time – together. We all reaffirmed today that our Mutual Defense Treaty remains the bedrock of our cooperation.  As Secretary Blinken and I have said clearly and repeatedly, the Mutual Defense Treaty applies to armed attacks on either of our armed forces, our aircraft, or public vessels – including our Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea. And so today we built on our work together during my recent visit to Manila and discussed plans to operationalize the four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement locations in Palawan and northern Luzon. These sites will support combined training exercises and interoperability between our forces to ensure that we’re even better prepared for future crises. We’re proud of the investments we’re making, and by the end of FY ’23 we expect to have allocated more than $100 million in infrastructure investments at the new and existing EDCA sites.  So those investments will spur job creation and economic growth in local Philippine communities. We’ve also committed to swiftly finalizing the U.S.– Philippines bilateral defense guidelines, which charts our vision for alliance cooperation across all operational domains, including space and cyberspace. In the face of coercion and gray zone aggression, Secretary Galvez and I agreed to redouble our efforts to strengthen our combined ability to resist armed attack by modernizing our armed forces. We also discussed near-term plans to complete a security sector assistance roadmap to support the delivery of priority defense platforms over the next five to ten years, including radars, unmanned aerial systems, military transport aircraft, and coastal and air defense systems. We’re building on the some 500 defense engagements that our militaries conduct each year, and we’re forging new ties between our militaries and expanding the breadth of our cooperation. Yesterday, we celebrated the start of our 38th annual Exercise Balikatan.  More than 17,000 troops are participating this year.  It is the largest and most complex iteration in the exercise’s history. Now the commitments that we made today will further integrate our strong bilateral ties into multilateral networks, including with Japan and Australia, and we discussed plans to conduct combined maritime activities with likeminded partners in the South China Sea later this year as we work to enhance our collective deterrence. Our alliance is ultimately guided by our deep and enduring commitment to freedom.  So we’re not just allies, we’re democratic allies, and the United States and the Philippines are bound by a common vision for the future – a vision that’s anchored in the rule of law and freedom of the seas and respect for the territorial integrity of sovereign states. And Secretary Galvez, Secretary Manalo, and Secretary Blinken, thank you for your leadership and your steadfast partnership as we build this future together. Secretary Galvez, the floor is yours, sir.   OFFICER IN CHARGE GALVEZ:   Foremost, my highest courtesies to the Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, to my most esteemed colleague Secretary Enrique Manalo.  Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. First of all, we would like to take this moment to express our profoundest thanks to the U.S.  We are grateful to the U.S. Government and the American people for their kind assistance in our current environmental sea disaster in containing the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro. Upon our request for assistance, the Secretary of Defense, the U.S. Embassy, and the U.S. Navy manifested their unwavering support to its deployment of the Remotely Operated Vehicle, or ROV, as well as the technical support provided by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, to help contain an oil spill. The timely and efficient response of our allies in providing the technical and material support, amounting to more than $20 million U.S., was very instrumental in mitigating the impact of this environmental disaster on our coastal communities that may affect millions of Filipino people. The aid and cooperation demonstrates the strength of the Philippine-U.S. defense alliance, and we are very proud to be partner of the United States.  And your commitment to assisting us in this time of need has reinforced the band of friendship and mutual trust between our nations.  We will not forget. As to vaccine, sir, I would like also to – like to reiterate our appreciation for the 3.6 million vaccine doses donated by the U.S. Government to the Philippines, which save millions of Filipino lives and help our economy to recover. Today, we have just concluded the third 2+2 ministerial meeting between the Philippines and the United States.  And I am pleased to announce that it had been a most productive meeting, which expanded to even to economic security. The last time the 2+2 ministerial consultation were convened was in January 2016.  The fact that we are able to convene once again highlights the continued importance and relevance of our partnership and the need for continued dialogue and cooperation on matters of mutual interest. It is also noteworthy that this is the first time the meeting will be convened under the Marcos administration, which highlights the Philippine Government’s commitment to strengthening our alliance with the United States. Our meeting today will set the direction that we would like to be the Philippine-U.S. alliance to take in consideration of our present-day realities and common security challenges. Along this line, I wish to emphasize the strength and credibility of the Philippine-U.S. defense alliance, which is founded on a shared commitment to regional peace, stability, and security. Our partnership has weathered many challenges in the past and continues to stand strong today.  We reaffirm our commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty, which is our cornerstone of our partnership. Our defense establishments recognize the need to work together to enhance our interoperability, increase our defense capacity, and build our resilience against emerging challenges. To this end, we agreed to explore new areas of cooperation and deepen our existing partnership in key areas such as mutual defense, maritime security, and information/intelligence sharing, and joint sails and solidarity patrols. We also welcomed the ongoing conduct of the biggest ever Exercise Balikatan, which involved 17,000 forces – 12,000 U.S. personnel, 5,000 AFP personnel, and 111 Australian defense forces and observers from other likeminded countries, which capacitates our armed forces to train and operate together, improve interoperability, and enhance our respective capabilities. With the announcement of the four additional sites where Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement agreed locations can be developed, and we reaffirm our commitment to work together in implementing the EDCA through the completion of both existing and potential projects. Lastly, we discussed opportunities for future cooperation with likeminded partners in the region.  We recognize that we cannot address such a wide range of security challenges and that we need to work with other countries who share our interest in accordance with our respective national laws and policies. We affirm the commitment to sustain regular exchanges through existing platforms, namely the 2+2 ministerial consultations, Bilateral Strategic Dialogue, the Mutual Defense Board, Security Engagement Board, and among others. In conclusion, I want to emphasize that the Philippine-U.S. defense alliance is strong and credible, and we are committed to modernizing our alliance to meet the evolving security challenges of the region.  This alliance is for peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.  Thank you. MR PATEL:  Thanks, everyone.  We’ll take three questions.  First we’ll go to Demetri Sevastopulo with The Financial Times.  QUESTION:  Thank you.  Good afternoon.  I have questions for both sides.  Secretary Austin, can you give us a sense of what kinds and numbers of military assets and personnel that you intend to position or rotate through the EDCA sites in the Philippines? And can you explain how specifically does this enhanced cooperation increase your ability to prepare for any possible conflict with China over Taiwan? And to Secretaries Manalo and Galvez, how will the EDCA sites be used if the U.S. and China go to war over Taiwan?  And will there be any restrictions on what the U.S. military can do with the sites? And finally, Secretary Blinken, this is a China question.  Your relations with China appear to be deteriorating continuously with only sporadic signs of positive developments.  Is this the long-term future of U.S. relations with China, or is there some kind of a realistic way to turn things around?  And when do you expect to go to Beijing?  Thank you. SECRETARY AUSTIN:  Well, thanks for your question, Demetri.  EDCA is a key pillar to our alliance.  It provides us the opportunity to train together, to increase interoperability.  And you know, Demetri, interoperability is not something that you can show up at the last moment and snap your figures and achieve.  It’s something that you’ve got to work on each and every day.  And so the addition of these EDCA sites puts us in a position to be able to not only train together but also respond to meet the needs of the Philippines in the event of a crisis like a natural disaster or a requirement to rapidly provide humanitarian assistance.  And so I think it helps us not only work together, but it helps us address the needs of the Philippines as well.  And I think it’s essential to our ability to strengthen our combined deterrence posture. Read the full article

[goldiers1]

2023: A Year of Gender Equality Online

  The Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse (Global Partnership) will bring together countries, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector to better prioritize, understand, prevent, and address the growing scourge of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The Global Partnership is also an action coalition as part of the Denmark-led Technology for Democracy initiative. It will address gender-based online harassment and abuse in the long term, with an initial mission to deliver concrete results by the end of 2023.  

Background

The digital world holds immense potential to amplify the voices of women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals. At the same time, social media platforms and other digital technologies have given rise to new forms and manifestations of gender-based violence through their misuse; and exacerbated preexisting forms of gender-based violence through their scale, speed, and reach. Moreover, this occurs within an ecosystem characterized by a gender digital divide rooted in structural gender inequalities, in which those who design—and, in some countries or regions, access and use—communications technologies are disproportionately male. Often, gender-based online abuse and harassment reflect and exacerbates offline discrimination and gender disparities: research indicates that its prevalence can be higher in regions where women and girls have lesser legal status, rights, and protections.   International Considerations Because gender-based online harassment and abuse can transcend national borders, and be an added dimension of violence in political and ethnic conflict, meaningful efforts for protection, prevention, and accountability require global, multi-sectoral action and coordination. Gender-based online harassment and abuse include a wide range of acts that are amplified or enabled by social media and technology platforms to control, attack, and silence women and girls, particularly those who have a disability, and/or identify as LGBTQI+ or as a member of a racial, ethnic, or religious minority. It is a continuum of technology-facilitated gender-based violence that can include (but is not limited to) the non-consensual distribution of intimate digital images; cyberstalking; sextortion; doxing; malicious deep fakes; live-streamed sexual violence; rape and death threats; disinformation; and intimate-partner violence. Some forms of gender-based online harassment and abuse are criminal; others are not but are nonetheless harmful. Survivors and victims can experience psychological distress, trauma, long-term mental-health impacts, physical and sexual violence, exploitation, and, in some cases, homicide or suicide. They may also face economic insecurity and political and social exclusion as a result of being targeted online, and step back from leadership roles and opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this problem and its impacts, in parallel with the rise in other forms of gender-based violence during this public-health crisis. Acts of gender-based online harassment and abuse threaten the safety and ability of individuals to exercise their rights, online and offline; and the strength of inclusive, representative democracies. In individuals’ private lives, gender-based online harassment and abuse can take the form of intimate-partner violence, stalking, financial abuse, or workplace harassment. At the societal level, anti-democratic forces—both state and non-state malign actors—increasingly misuse technology to lead gendered campaigns of information manipulation against women in public life, including politicians, activists, and journalists. These acts have a chilling effect on women’s political participation and are intergenerational: for example, witnessing or experiencing gender-based online harassment and abuse can discourage the political and other ambitions of adolescent girls and lower their participation in civic and political debate, both online and offline.  

Why the Global Partnership?

Within the last decade, individual countries; United Nations agencies, funds, and programs; the G7; and civil-society representatives have increasingly called for an end to gender-based online harassment and abuse, alongside growing acknowledgment of this issue by the technology sector. Despite these efforts, significant gaps in research, policy, and evidence-informed practices to understand and address this challenge persist. Meanwhile, gender-based online harassment and abuse continue to rise, both in prevalence and impact. Informed by survivors, advocates, and researchers, a broad consensus has formed on the steps needed to drive progress. These include, among others, expanding data on the prevalence, forms, and impact of gender-based online harassment and abuse, while also enhancing access to platform data for researchers, civil society, and journalists; remedying the insufficient incentives and responsibility for technology platforms to monitor, prevent, and address the problem; strengthening laws and other frameworks to deter perpetrators and hold them accountable; and scaling support for survivors. The Global Partnership will work to fill these gaps, elevating the challenge of gender-based online harassment and abuse and advancing international solutions, as well as working toward concrete progress in each member country. It will focus on developing solutions to address the impacts on individual survivors and victims in their private lives, including in the context of intimate-partner violence; and the societal costs of online harassment, violence, and gendered disinformation directed toward women in their public lives, including as journalists, politicians, or activists.  

Objectives

The Global Partnership will focus its work on three strategic objectives: - Develop and advance shared principles. Partners will develop a collection/compendium of international best practices and principles that situate certain forms of gender-based online harassment and abuse as a type of intersectional gender discrimination, as a threat to democratic values—particularly in the context of gendered disinformation in elections—and, where applicable, as a violation or abuse of human rights with reference to both international and regional instruments. This includes emphasizing the need for greater accountability for perpetrators and framing the experience of gender-based online harassment and abuse as an impediment to individuals’ ability to exercise their right to freedom of expression; enjoy their rights related to privacy; and fully and equally participate in civic and political life. - Increase targeted programming and resources. Together, partners will focus resources on preventing and responding to gender-based online harassment and abuse, including programs that provide training and support to civil society organizations, journalists, and politically active women on best practices to document and respond to technology-facilitated gender-based violence. - Expand reliable, comparable data and access to it. Partners will improve the regular collection of comparable data (at the national, regional, and global levels) on gender-based online harassment and abuse and its effects by governments, international organizations, technology platforms, and non-governmental organizations. They will also pilot and evaluate innovative, evidence-informed interventions. Such data should be collected in accordance with safety and ethical standards, and measure the prevalence, impact, and political and economic costs of gender-based online harassment and abuse, particularly at the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The Global Partnership will also invest in building a rigorous evidence base to enhance understanding of risk and protective factors associated with experiencing and perpetrating gender-based online harassment and abuse.  

Membership

As members of the Global Partnership, countries share several goals and expectations. By joining the Partnership, partners commit to: - Prioritize the problem of gender-based online harassment and abuse and act in coordination with others to fulfill the Partnership’s three strategic objectives. - Devote the necessary time and staffing to make meaningful progress in achieving those objectives in 2022. Countries might consider assessing whether there are opportunities to devote resources to addressing gender-based online harassment and abuse, including in existing policies and programs, domestically and internationally. This commitment may but need not include funding contributions. - Advance activities within their own countries to prioritize and address gender-based online harassment and abuse, and collaborate with non-members to help advance the Partnership. - Refrain from and oppose the spread of gendered disinformation or any other form of gender-based online harassment and abuse by any state.   Sources: THX News & US Department of State. Read the full article

[goldiers1]

The President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget

  Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

The Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are leading extraordinary global efforts in 2023 to advance our vision of a free, open, secure, and prosperous world and to deliver on the issues that matter most to the lives and livelihoods of Americans. The President’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget request, including $63.1 billion for the Department and USAID, will make it possible for us to continue to promote U.S. national interests, lead the world in tackling global challenges, and continue support for the people of Ukraine. In response to these unprecedented and extraordinary times, the Request includes mandatory and discretionary resources to out-compete the People’s Republic of China (PRC), strengthen the U.S. role in the Indo-Pacific, and advance American prosperity globally through new investments. In all that we do, we will continue to bring to bear all the tools of U.S. diplomacy and development to rally our allies and partners to work alongside us in addressing these issues. Because when we mobilize those who share our interests and values – in governments and multilateral institutions, the private sector, philanthropy, and civil society – we are in a stronger position to ensure our foreign policy delivers for the American people and people around the world. We will spearhead international efforts to bolster economic, energy, food, and health security, mitigate the climate crisis and address irregular migration – global challenges that increasingly affect Americans at home. Achieving these goals also requires us to strengthen our diverse global workforce. Diplomacy and development assistance are the tools that allow us to address these globally complex issues, and we at the Department – with our partners at USAID – will strategically implement this funding to improve outcomes for all Americans and our global partners.   The Budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity and economic growth for decades to come. At the Department of State and USAID, the Foreign Affairs Budget will: - Support Ukraine by ensuring President Putin’s aggression against Ukraine remains a strategic failure, while ensuring accountability for the Ukrainian government and people. This request includes $1.7 billion that will help Ukraine win the war and lay the reform and recovery foundation for winning the peace and help other partners impacted by the war stabilize their economies and prepare for recovery. - Address Strategic Competition with the PRC by implementing the Administration’s “invest, align, compete” strategy towards the PRC. The budget includes $400 million in discretionary funding to counter specific problematic PRC behaviors globally through the Countering PRC Influence Fund. In addition, the Budget includes a new, multifaceted interagency mandatory proposal to Out-Compete the PRC. This includes $2 billion to support high-quality, strategic “hard” infrastructure projects globally; $2 billion to strengthen Indo-Pacific economies and support our partners in pushing back against predatory efforts; $2 billion for a new revolving Fund at DFC to boost equity investments, and $7.1 billion over 20 years to support the renewal of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA). - Invest in our Indo-Pacific Partnerships and Alliances by including $3.2 billion in discretionary funding to support implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, including by strengthening our alliances and partnerships. This includes critical bilateral and regional foreign assistance, as well as resources to expand our presence in the region, especially in the Pacific Islands. - Deliver Solutions for Shared Global Challenges by spearheading international efforts to bolster economic, energy, food, and health security, address the climate crisis and other global challenges including irregular migration and humanitarian disasters. This request includes $4.2 billion for the climate crisis; $1.2 billion for food insecurity; $10.9 billion for global health; more than $10.5 billion to support global humanitarian needs, including resources to rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and resettle 125,000 refugees; over $1 billion to address the root causes of migration from Central America; and $485.9 million to strengthen our re-engagement with the multilateral system. - Strengthen Global Democracy by shoring up fellow democracies and building resilience against authoritarians’ efforts to undermine them. This request includes more than $3.4 billion in diplomatic engagement and foreign assistance funding to counter corruption and advance democratic governance and renewal as well as country and global priorities under the Summit for Democracy and the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal. It also includes over $3 billion to advance gender equality and equity across a broad range of sectors and surpasses the President’s goal to more than double gender equality assistance. - Modernize Diplomacy and Expand Overseas Engagement. The Budget request will drive forward an ambitious modernization of American diplomacy and development to ensure we are equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities of our time. It expands the Department of State’s workforce by over 500, with a focus on advancing the Indo-Pacific Strategy, expanding professional development opportunities, and managing increasingly complex embassy operations. Funding is also included to continue Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and workforce engagement initiatives. - Protect our Diplomats, Embassies, and Data.  This Budget requests $6.4 billion to secure our global workforce from an array of threats to their health and safety, address infrastructure vulnerabilities, and protect sensitive data. Additional funding for Diplomatic Security will support our Pacific Islands presence and a potential gradual return to Libya, sustain the coverage of guard force programs at home and abroad, and continue protection of former senior officials. Nearly $750 million is requested for the Department’s cybersecurity programs, prioritizing deployment of Zero Trust Architecture enhancements and secure end-user devices for our agile workforce.  - Prioritize Multilateral Contributions to renew, strengthen, and leverage U.S. leadership in multilateral diplomacy, the Budget includes $3.6 billion for contributions to the United Nations and other international organizations. Essential priorities to advance U.S. objectives include $344 million to pay down UN peacekeeping arrears, and fully pay our peacekeeping assessments on time; $150 million to support a U.S. return to UNESCO, and $40 million for UN payment synchronization to counter PRC and Russia narratives and mitigate longstanding UN liquidity challenges. - Improve Consular Services by including $163 million for the Department of State to revamp the delivery of passport services so the public can access core services online. Most notably, this supports delivery on the commitment outlined in the Customer Service Executive Order to enable eligible U.S. citizens to renew their passport without having to go in-person and mail original documents. - Protect our Afghan Allies by fully supporting implementation of Enduring Welcome, the whole-of-government effort to expeditiously process the applications of our Afghan allies. The safety of those who served and sacrificed alongside us is an unwavering U.S. priority.   Sources: THX News & US Department of State. Read the full article

[hellorobreese]

And so it begins! Just in time for a big-trip-planning day this barren, un-stamped, newly renewed 5th in a series passport has ARRIVED!!!! Thanks #usps and #usdepartmentofstate !!! #fuckyeahbulgaria #greekheatre (at Times Square, New York City) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQT-0AfD4cS/?utm_medium=tumblr

[ikmalfahmirasmi]

Grab 100 intership programmes via US ASEAN Intership Programmes now !! #USASEANInternship #Internship #USASEAN #ASEAN #usdepartmentofstate (at U.S. Mission to Asean (USASEAN)) https://www.instagram.com/p/COcddbvBuwf/?igshid=1qdi5vbxvoix6

[ikmalfahmirasmi]

John Biden: Meeting the moment on climate change must begin with a recognition that every nation has a responsibility and every nation is at risk. Reposted from @statedept #JohnBiden #climatechange #climateaction #usdepartmentofstate #America (at Washington D.C.) https://www.instagram.com/p/COJYKx3hiyL/?igshid=4tbxzrgllv5o