The Crucial Role of Multilateral Diplomacy in Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership
 
On Thursday, September 15, 2011, Esther Brimmer,http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/121033.htm Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs, will hold a conversation with Ellen Laipson,http://www.stimson.org/experts/ellen-laipson/ President and CEO of the Stimson Center, on “Multilateral Diplomacy and U.S. Global Leadership.”  The discussion will be moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, and streamed live on DipNote,http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/discussion_multilateral_diplomacy the Department of State’s official blog, at 2:45 p.m. ET.
 
You are invited to participate by submitting questions, some of which will be selected for response during the live broadcast.  Submit your questions now on DipNote.
 
Assistant Secretary Brimmer and Ms. Laipson will discuss “Multilateral Diplomacy and U.S. Global Leadership” in preparation for the 60th annual United Nations General Assembly. Given the transnational nature of current international threats and challenges, multilateral cooperation has become essential to U.S. foreign policy. As the world increasingly turns to the UN to address trans-border issues, U.S. participation in the UN is key.
 
Through Conversations With America, leaders of national nongovernmental organizations have the opportunity to discuss foreign policy and global issues with senior State Department officials. These conversations aim to provide candid views of the ways in which leaders from the foreign affairs community are engaging the Department on pressing foreign policy issues. From Afghanistan to India, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and internet freedom to world water issues, the Conversations With America series showcases how both the U.S. Government and civil society are working across the globe on issues that concern Americans most.
View other Conversations With America herehttp://www.state.gov/r/pa/plrmo/c36460.htm and by accessing the Conversations With America video podcastshttp://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/u-s-department-state-conversations/id371682115 on iTunes.