United States Secretary of State and Prime Minister Briceño Meet in Washington D.C.
Prime Minister John Briceño met with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken at the Department of State in Washington D.C. today. The meeting was to discuss issues of mutual concern between both countries, including climate change, energy, food security, and finance. Prime Minister Briceño and Secretary of State Blinken spoke with the press briefly, before their official meeting.
Antony J. Blinken
Antony J. Blinken, US Secretary of State
“Good morning everyone. It is a real pleasure to have Prime Minister Briceño here from Belize. We have a lot to cover by I am really gratified that you have taken the time to come to the State Department. Belize is a strong partner for the United States on so many issues of mutual concerns. We are following up together on the very important meeting that President Biden and Vice President Harris had with CARICOM and the leaders of CARICOM at the Summit of the Americas, working on a strong agenda together on climate, on energy, on food security, on finance. And, I look forward to sharing some of the progress we have made with the Prime Minister. As well I should say, congratulations on your recent Independence Day, the twenty-first. But, also we appreciate so much Belize’s strong voice on global issues, including for example, to the Russian aggression against Ukraine as well as its strong ties to Taiwan. Prime Minister welcome, it is very good to have you here.”
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Thank you very much Secretary of State Blinken. Thank you very much for uninviting us over here at your office as we all know that United States and Belize have had very close, strong, and warm relations over the last forty-one years. We just celebrated our forty-first anniversary of our Independence last week Wednesday. You are right that there is so many issues we need to address. The issue of climate change, while it is almost like an existential threat for small countries like Belize that have a low lying coastline. But, it also affecting biog countries like yourself, developed countries where in areas you have droughts. In other areas you have excessive rains. And, it is something that has to be addressed buy all of us, not just individuals. Belize continues to have a stellar record when it comes to the protection of its environment. We just signed an agreement with The Nature Conservancy that we are going to protect thirty percent of our ocean’s space by 2026, four years ahead of schedule. And certainly, the other issues of migration, the war in Ukraine where we strongly condemn the actions of Russia, issues of migration and also strengthening democracy in our region.”
