U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will visit Chile October 11-12 as part of a six-day, three-country tour that includes visits to Colombia and Peru. This is Secretary Hagel’s second trip to Latin America this year.
Secretary Hagel will begin his trip in Colombia, where he will hold meetings with Colombian leaders and reinforce the bilateral wide-ranging defense partnership. He will then travel to Santiago to meet with Chile’s leadership to explore ways the United States can expand its bilateral partnership in areas such as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and peacekeeping. The United States regards Chile as a long-standing defense partner and regional leader. In his talks in Santiago, Secretary Hagel will also seek to identify new areas for cooperation with Chile in the broader Asia-Pacific region.
Finally, in Peru, Secretary Hagel will attend the 11th Conference of the Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA), a biennial conference that is the Western Hemisphere’s premier venue for senior leaders to discuss regional defense issues.
At the CDMA, Secretary Hagel will stress the United States’ commitment to partnerships that strengthen national defense institutions and confront hemispheric security challenges, including ungoverned spaces, organized crime and narcotics trafficking. Addressing a major theme of this year’s conference – environmental security – the Secretary will also discuss the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) emerging strategy for adapting to the impact of climate change. He will describe DoD’s efforts to assess and respond to the risks climate change poses to U.S. military’s installations, operations and training, and he will propose cooperation with partner nations to address these risks.
On the margins of the conference, the Secretary will also have the opportunity for bilateral meetings with leaders from Peru and other regional partners, highlighting the United States’ appreciation for the diverse contributions of partners who share a common vision for regional stability.
For Secretary Hagel’s biographic information click here: http://www.defense.gov/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=365
