Page 13 - Antony Blinken

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China no longer comfortable with status quo on Taiwan: Antony Blinken

Blinken called what Hong Kong went through in recent years and the reversal of development towards democracy one of the most sobering realities for people around the world

US Secy Blinken cautions China against changing status quo in Taiwan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has cautioned China against changing the status quo on Taiwan which is vital to maintaining peace and stability in the region. Over the last few years, China has been trying to build military and economic pressure on Taiwan, Blinken said during a conversation with University of Chicago's Institute of Politics Founding Director David Axelrod on Friday. "On Taiwan, what we have seen over the last few years is, I think, China made a decision that it was no longer comfortable with the status quo, a status quo that had prevailed for decades, that had actually been successful in terms of the relationship between our countries and managing what is a difficult situation," the secretary of state said. "We have seen them, over the last few years... ratchet up the pressure on Taiwan, military pressure, economic pressure, trying to cut off its ties to countries around the world, to international organisations," he said. From America's perspective, that stat

Antony Blinken to travel to China early next month: US State Department

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China early next month and the details of his visit are being worked out, an official spokesperson said

US, Japan to hold Security Consultative Committee meet on Jan 11: Ned Price

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will co-host the 2023 US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting with Japanese counterparts on January 11

Google India to mentor 1 mn Indian women entrepreneurs: Antony Blinken

Applauding the efforts of the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment that connects the private sector and civil society to help women grow their businesses, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Google India has committed to mentoring 1 million Indian women entrepreneurs. Launching US Strategy on Global Women's Economic Security here on Wednesday, Blinken also said that the Biden administration will promote women's entrepreneurship by addressing some of the challenges that too often hold women back, including a lack of mentorship and training opportunities. "We're working to both create and also, as appropriate, replicate efforts like the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment," Blinken said. "That connects the private sector and civil society to provide Indian women with technical skills and networking opportunities to help them grow their businesses. At the alliance's launch, Google India committed to mentoring one million Indian women ...

Blinken will have several opportunities to travel to India in 2023: US

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken will have several opportunities to travel to India, which currently holds the G-20 presidency, this year, a State Department spokesperson said. Blinken, along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is expected to travel to India early this year for the 2+2 dialogue with their respective Indian counterparts -- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. "I don't have a date to announce just yet, but it is an important opportunity for the Secretary, for the Secretary of Defense, to engage with their Indian counterparts every single year," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. "It's an opportunity to discuss the breadth of our global strategic partnership that we have with India, he said. "The Secretary will of course have probably several opportunities to travel to India over the course of the year, given India's hosting of the G-20, something we look forward to taking part

Devastating for Afghan people: Blinken on Taliban banning women from NGOs

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced grave concerns over the Taliban regime's decisions to ban women from jobs in Afghanistan.Taking to Twitter, Blinken posted, "This decision could be devastating for the Afghan people. Women are central to humanitarian operations around the world."The Ministry of Economy under the caretaker Taligan regime on Saturday ordered all national and international non-government organisations to suspend the jobs of women employees until further notice, Afghan news agency TOLO News reported.Citing the spokesperson for the Taliban, Abdul Rahman Habib, TOLOnews said Afghanistan's Ministry of Economy (MOE) warned that any organisation, which does not implement the order, will lose the MoE licence.US Special Representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, in response to the temporary job ban on women, said the Islamic Emirate (the caretake Taliban regime in Afghanistan) has forgotten its real responsibilities to its people."The Taliban's decree barring women ..

Indian American Richard Verma to be Dy Secy of US State Department

Verma will have to be confirmed by the US Senate, which may not be a problem because he has been confirmed twice before by the chamber

US ready to help China with vaccines to control Covid: State Secy Blinken

"We want to see China get this outbreak under control," Blinken told a press conference

Blinken raises concerns over China's Covid surge, Taliban and Ukraine war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concern over the surging Covid cases in China, the Taliban banning women from universities and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war

China's Covid-19 outbreak has US worried about new mutations of virus

The US is sending a delegation led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing early in the new year

Quick commerce finds it footing amid funding winter, now needs to scale

The sector has fared well both on the fund raising front and on operational performance

US Senator wants 'robust discussion' with India on religious freedom

A Republican US Senator has urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to hold a robust discussion with India on the issue of religious freedom of minorities. Senator James Lankford sent a letter to Blinken after the State Department in its annual release of Countries of Particular Concern, Special Watch List, and Entities of Particular Concern designations did not follow the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's recommendations, specific to India, Nigeria, and Afghanistan. In its report early this year, the USCIRF had urged the Department of State to designate India as a country of particular concern on religious freedom issues. The Biden administration did not agree with the recommendations of the USCIRF. Lankford is asking for the State Department's legally required explanation to Congress on its designations, a media release said. India was not formally designated despite overt and repeated severe violations of religious freedom. India is an important secu

Blinken vows US support for Israel despite unease over govt

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the US will not shrink from its unwavering support for Israel despite stark differences with Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and concerns the Biden administration may have about potential members of his incoming right-wing government. Speaking to a left-leaning group that some on the right accuse of being too sympathetic to the Palestinians and Iran, Blinken said the United States will remain a stalwart friend of Israel even as it pursues goals that Netanyahu has opposed, including a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a restoration of the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The US-Israel partnership and all that it's produced for the people of our nations and the world has always been underwritten by the United States ironclad commitment to Israel's security, a commitment that has never been stronger than it is today, he said. Blinken said the Biden administration would engage with Netanyahu's governme

China's repressive action against Covid protesters shows weakness: Blinken

As millions have been affected by China's Covid Zero policy, US's Antony Blinken called Beijing's "repressive" action against the protesters over the Covid lockdown "a sign of weakness"

NATO ministers meet to drum up more aid, arms for Ukraine against Russia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts are gathering in Romania on Tuesday to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine, including deliveries of electrical components for the war-torn country's devastated power transmission network. Ukraine's grid has been battered countrywide since early October by targeted Russian strikes, in what U.S. officials call a Russian campaign to weaponise the coming winter cold. Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to use winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine and that NATO's allies and Ukraine need to be prepared for more attacks. The meeting in the capital Bucharest is likely to see NATO make fresh pledges of nonlethal support to Ukraine: fuel, generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone-jamming devices. Blinken will announce substantial U.S. aid for Ukraine's energy grid, U.S. officials said Individual allies are also likely to

Together with India, US will work to bring justice: Blinken on 26/11

"As we mark 14 years since the horrific attacks of 26/11, we join people in India and around the world in mourning the lives lost," Blinken

India is an invaluable partner: US State Department on Jaishankar-Blinken

The United States supports India's G-20 presidency, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted as he met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Cambodia on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

Jaishankar discusses Ukraine war, Indo-Pacific with Blinken in Cambodia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday and discussed the Ukraine conflict, the strategic Indo-Pacific region and bilateral relations on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India summit here in the Cambodian capital. Jaishankar is accompanying Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is leading the Indian delegation to the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the 17th East Asia Summit here. A good meeting with US Secretary of State @SecBlinken. Discussed Ukraine, Indo-Pacific, energy, G20 and bilateral relations, Jaishankar said in a tweet. He also met UN chief Antnio Guterres at the end of the ASEAN gala dinner on Saturday. Jaishankar held also talks with his counterpart from Thailand Don Pramudwinai. Always nice to catch up with DPM & FM Don Pramudwinai of Thailand. Discussed our shared regional concerns and the strengthening partnership with ASEAN, he said. Met Canadian colleagues Trade Minister @mary_ng and FM @melaniejoly at the ASEAN gal