Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to Host The North Atlantic Treaty Organization Accession Lunch

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will preside over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization accession ceremony and lunch Monday, March 29, at 12:30 p.m. to mark the formal accession of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia into NATO. The event will be held in the Cash Room at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The prime ministers of these seven countries as well as those from Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia will be in attendance.

Secretary Powell will accept the instruments of accession from the seven prime ministers in a short ceremony prior to the lunch. The U.S. is the depository nation for the North Atlantic Treaty. In handing the instruments to Secretary Powell, these seven countries will immediately become NATO’s newest members. This will mark NATO’s fifth and largest round of enlargement.
 
This event will be covered by pool press.
Pre-set time for cameras: 10:30 a.m.
Final Access for all press: 11:00 a.m.
Press should use the 15^th and Alexander Hamilton Street entrance to enter the U.S. Department of the Treasury
 
Pool press may cover this event upon presentation of one of the following:
(1) a U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) an official letter from their employer on original letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification (driver’s license or passport).
 
For further information please contact the Office of Press Relations, 202-647-2492

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