Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to Berlin, Paris, Rome, the Vatican, Bari, and Matera, June 22-29.

In Berlin, the Secretary will attend the Second Berlin Conference on Libya to support national elections in December and the withdrawal of foreign forces. While in Berlin, Secretary Blinken will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to highlight the importance of the U.S.-Germany relationship in addressing common challenges and priorities. He will also meet with Libyan and other foreign leaders on the margins of the Conference on Libya to discuss mutual concerns. In Berlin, Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Maas will underscore our shared commitment to combatting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and distortion and to finding innovative new ways to enhance Holocaust education.

In Paris on June 25, Secretary Blinken will meet with President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to deepen the strong U.S.-France relationship, highlight our shared values, and discuss areas of cooperation, including global security and recovering from the pandemic. The Secretary will also meet with OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann to discuss key economic priorities, international taxation, and U.S. chairmanship of the 60th anniversary Ministerial Council Meeting in October.

In Rome, Secretary Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. On the margins of the D-ISIS meeting, the Secretary will participate in a Syria Ministerial to discuss the crisis in Syria and underscore the importance of meeting humanitarian needs. He will also have bilateral meetings with President Sergio Mattarella and Foreign Minister Di Maio to underscore the U.S.-Italy partnership’s important role in addressing key global priorities. Secretary Blinken will also visit Vatican City, where he will meet with senior Holy See officials to underscore our shared commitment to freedom of religion or belief and tackling the climate crisis.

Finally, in Bari and Matera, the Secretary will join foreign ministers at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to reinforce the U.S. commitment to multilateralism and discuss continued cooperation in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the climate crisis, and building back better with our global partners, with a focus on Africa.

U.S. Department of State

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