#SecretaryTrip

[thxnews]

Blinken Visits HIV/AIDS Clinic and Meeets PM in Papau New Guinea

  Transcript of the Lawes Road Urban Clinic Speech

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, everyone.  This was a real privilege to be here at Lawes Road at this clinic, where quite literally our partners are saving lives, changing lives, every single day. The United States – we’ve been a committed partner in helping to deal with HIV/AIDS for many years, particularly through the PEPFAR program, and we are powerfully committed going forward because here in Papua New Guinea, unfortunately, we’ve actually seen HIV rates rising, not falling. It’s hugely important to continue to work to get ahead of that. I had an opportunity to talk to some of the clinicians but also some remarkable people who have been living with HIV/AIDS but are now helping in their own communities to spread the word about the treatments available and encouraging people to come forward.  

HIV Stigma

One of the biggest challenges that we know from our experience around the world, and we see here is that the antiretroviral treatments are incredibly effective, and people live full lives with HIV/AIDS if they’re on an antiretroviral. But because of stigma that people impose upon themselves or that their communities may impose, they may be reluctant to come forward.  It is so important to come forward to seek treatment.  It’s simple, it’s easy, and it works. And now there is also a treatment that is prophylactic – in other words, that can actually prevent the transmission – that’s 99 percent effective called PrEP. And for people who are particularly at high risk, this is a very, very effective means of preventing the transmission, and here at Lawes Road they are able to share that as well. So part of my reason for coming here today is just to help in our own way to put a spotlight on this because it remains a real challenge in Papua New Guinea.  

US Government Support

We want to help.  I am so grateful to my colleagues at USAID who are leading this effort with our partners here in Papua New Guinea.  This support has made a huge difference, but it can make more of a difference if we can continue to get people to come forward, and particularly the communities themselves. This is the most effective way to share information, to educate people about what’s available, and to have people come forward.  

Gender-based Violence

The other thing that’s very powerful here is that this clinic is also dealing with gender-based violence and helping victims of gender-based violence get the psychosocial services they need, work through the legal system, get other support. And that too is hugely, hugely important for people to come forward, to get the support that you can get here. In our own home country we’ve had this challenge, and I can say that one of the things that President Biden is proudest of in his career in the United States Senate, as Vice President, now as President, in all that time the thing that he’s probably the most proudest – proud of is the fact that he wrote the law, the Violence Against Women Act. That made violence against women a federal crime but also put in place a remarkable system for people to get help, national hotlines for people who were at risk or who had been victimized by gender-based violence.  So this is something that he feels very strongly. It was inspiring to meet the clinician here, who’s working every day to help people who are victimized by gender-based violence. The United States is proud to be a partner with the government, with our local implementing partners.  It’s something we’re deeply committed to. And I just wanted to put a little spotlight on that today because it remains a big challenge here, but one that we can overcome working together and especially with the remarkable people here at Lawes Road who every single day are saving lives and changing lives. Thank you.    

Transcript of the Meeting Between the Prime Minister and Secretary Blinken

  PRIME MINISTER MARAPE:  Thank you all for coming by.  USA is a important partner to PNG.  We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder on many occasions even (inaudible) living memory 1945, right up until our independence in 1975, and even up to today you remain very much an important bilateral partner, a big part of our nation’s history. That’s why across (inaudible) country we are here to get to develop our country to be better developed and not where we are today.  And we appreciate the help you have given us thus far and for you coming here representing your president, representing the great people of the United States of America. We look forward to this historic meeting amongst ourselves.  More importantly, we bring our combined conversations into our Pacific Island leaders dialogue that is – that is organized for – to take place after our engagement is complete. And welcome to Port Moseby and Papua New Guinea one more time.   SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Prime Minister, thank you so much.  And again, as I said before, we’re so grateful for not just your hospitality but your flexibility.  The President, again, asked me to extend his warmest greetings to you as well as his regret that he was not able to be here for the reasons that you know well. But we had the extraordinary, I think genuinely historic summit at the White House and throughout our government, and I think that was for him such an important and powerful moment that he wants to continue to build on. And in fact we’d like to invite you and all of your colleagues to a second summit in Washington this fall.  We will find the right time to do that. But meanwhile, it was particularly important for me to be here at the President’s request and with your great hospitality, both to see you and all our colleagues from PNG but also to see colleagues from throughout the Pacific Islands region. So I very much look forward to that conversation and pursuing the very important – more than dialogue, the very important work that we’re doing in Washington all together. But like PNG, our own country is incredibly diverse in its population, I think we’re all optimistic in our outlook, we have a strong appreciation for the past.  And as you said, Prime Minister, we have a deep and rich shared history. But I think your other point was even in a sense more important because it’s living history, and the work that we’re doing together to try to shape the future could not be more important, could not be more timely. I’m honored to join you for the signing of some very important agreements that we’ve been working on together for some time which we’ll have a chance to talk about later, but also just to deepen our own partnership across the board – something that we very much welcome.  So I look forward to this conversation, and again thank you for your hospitality today.   Sources: THX News & US Department of State. Read the full article

[goldiers1]

Secretary Blinken Statement Before US - EU Energy Council Meeting

  Official Statement by Antony J. Blinken, Secretary for the US Department of State.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: High Representative Borrell, Josep, thank you. Thank you for bringing us together today and for continuing an ongoing discussion, an ongoing action that we’ve had with the United States and the European Union on an issue that’s critical in the lives of all of our fellow citizens. I’m very much looking forward to pursuing the discussion we actually began earlier this morning. It’s great to be joined, Tobias, by you, Commissioner Simson, our Deputy Secretary of Energy Dave Turk. Very good to be with everyone this morning. When this council met on February 7th, 2022, Russia was on the verge of invading Ukraine. Europe was on the verge of an energy crisis. President Putin bet that his threat of stopping gas supplies would deter Europe and the world from standing up to his aggression against Ukraine. He was wrong. He then doubled down – stopping natural gas supplies to many European countries, dramatically reducing flows to others, forcing record-high prices on millions in Europe and around the world. He sought to wipe out Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure – damaging or destroying 50 percent of Ukraine’s grid, leaving millions without reliable power and heat. And again – he failed. Ukraine stands – and stands strong. Europe stands – and stands strong. The world is reducing its dependence on Russian energy, accelerating the transition to the green economy. This is possible, in no small part, because of the partnership between the United States and the European Union. The US - EU Energy Council has worked as never before to help make Europe more energy secure. The United States has more than doubled our supply of natural gas to the continent – exporting 56 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas last year. Because of these and other efforts, Russia’s natural gas only accounted for about 16 percent of the EU’s natural gas imports by the end of 2022 – compared to 37 percent in March of 2022. And as I mentioned, our supplies went up more than twofold – over 140 percent increase between 2021 and 2022. The EU’s leadership has been vital in this shift – for example, with its Save the Gas for a Safe Winter program, through which citizens voluntarily lowered their electricity use and used more energy efficient appliances. These and other efforts contributed to a 19 percent reduction in natural gas demand between August of 2022 and January of 2023. We accelerated, as I mentioned, the clean energy transition. The US - EU Task Force on Energy Security is helping our governments and private sector partners share information to boost energy efficiency and diversify supply, like deploying more heat pumps and smart thermostats.  

Wind turbine farm. Photo by World Bank Photo Collection. Flickr.   Here, too, the European Union has shown remarkable leadership, increasing its goal of energy from renewables from 40 percent to 45 percent by 2030. EU countries added roughly 50 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity last year – which together generated more electricity than natural gas in 2022. Last year, the United States passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in American history, and we’re heartened that Europe too is working on ambitious clean energy incentives. Through the Clean Energy Incentives Dialogue, which President Biden and President von der Leyen launched last month, we are working together to make sure that these efforts are mutually reenforcing, so that our incentives create a positive feedback loop of innovation, investment for energy transition, jobs for our people. We also come together to support Ukraine’s energy needs. Together, the EU, the U.S., and our G7+ partners have delivered more than 4,000 power generators, 1,000 transformers, and more than 5 million pieces of equipment, like circuit breakers and cables, to help repair and replace the country’s battered energy grid.  

War in Ukraine keep the pressure up on Russia and aim for energy independence. Photo by European Parliament. Wikimedia.   Today, we’ll talk about ways to continue rebuilding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. We’ll also talk about our shared work to deploy new technologies like clean hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, among other efforts, to advance the energy transition across Europe and the United States. These collective efforts are directly benefiting people on both sides of the Atlantic through more affordable, more reliable energy, good-paying jobs, and a safer, more sustainable future. Today’s discussions will bring us one step closer to that future, and like everyone, I’m eager to get the conversation started. So again, Josep, thanks so much for having us here today, and I look forward to our discussions.   Sources: THX News & US Department of State. Read the full article