Diplomatic Ceremonies

Different diplomatic gatherings featuring speeches and official agreements, with flags symbolizing various nations present.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Under Secretary of State David Hale meet with Central Asian (C5) Foreign Ministers on the margins of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York, September 22, 2019.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses employees at the U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom, on August 2, 2013, to announce that the U.S. Department of State would immediately start granting visas to same-sex couples just as it does for opposite-sex couples, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a press availability with Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on October 13, 2021.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony "Tony" Blinken delivers remarks at the 17th annual Secretary of State's Awards for Corporate Excellence at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 1, 2016. The ACE recognizes U.S. businesses that exhibit responsible business conduct around the world in supporting sustainable development, respect for human rights and labor rights, environmental protection, open markets, transparency and advancing democratic values.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses with his fellow Foreign Ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on August 5, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the outset a meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative on the sidelines U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Under Secretary of State David Hale meet with Central Asian (C5) Foreign Ministers on the margins of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York, September 22, 2019.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a joint press availability with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rink_vi_s in Riga, Latvia, on March 7, 2022.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin take their respective seats on December 7, 2016, before a bilateral meeting as they both attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ministerial Session at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III co-host the 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, at the Department of State. Washington, D.C., Jan 11, 2023.

With U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry looking on, Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons Randy Berry delivers remarks at the U.S. Department of State�s "Pride at State" event in Washington, D.C., on June 21, 2016.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman and Ambassador David Satterfield participate in a virtual Meet and Greet with U.S. Embassy Ankara and other U.S. missions in Turkey, in Ankara, Turkey, on May 28, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Secretary General Ant�nio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres prepare to address reporters before their meeting at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 2017.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Colombian President Ivan Duque in Bogota, Colombia, on September 19, 2020.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry -- flanked by U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Pamela Spratlen -- speaks with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov at the President�s Residential Compound in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on November 1, 2015, at the outset of a bilateral meeting, and before a broader group discussion with all five Central Asian nations.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits with his counterparts from Germany, China, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia on March 31, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland, before the P5+1 partner nations resume direct negotiations with Iranian officials, top and right, about the future of their country's nuclear program.

President Barack Obama hosts a G-20 leaders working dinner at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, Penn., Sept. 24, 2009.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Icelandic Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 18, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lays down his binder before the start of a NATO Ministerial meeting focused on Afghanistan at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 25, 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in a working breakfast meeting with the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 8, 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam. (

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan hosts an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Ministerial Meeting, on the margins of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York City on September 27, 2018.

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall speaks with Hideki Tsuchimoto, commissioner of the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, Japanese Ministry of Defense, during a meeting at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., Sept. 9, 2022.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses acting Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son during a bilateral meeting on January 13, 2017, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi, Vietnam, during the Secretary's final trip abroad.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland participates in a bilateral meeting with Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerand in New York, on September 20, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz, joined by National Security Council Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Gulf States Robert Malley, receive a briefing from Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman on June 28, 2015, in Vienna, Austria, before the latest round of negotiations about the future of Iran's nuclear program.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers a statement during the joint press availability with Central American counterparts from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador at the Conference for Prosperity and Security in Central America, at Florida International University, in Miami, Florida, on June 15, 2017.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses a reporter on February 12, 2016, in Munich, Germany, at the outset of a bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the margins of the Munich Security Council.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, joined by Department Spokesperson Ned Price and Senior Official for the Bureau of International Religious Freedom Daniel Nadel, delivers remarks to the press on the release of the 2020 International Religious Freedom Report, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on May 12, 2021.

Department Spokesperson Ned Price briefs reporters at the Daily Press Briefing at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on February 25, 2022.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivers remarks on the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, flanked by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Daniel Feldman, delivers remarks to Pakistani National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz and his colleagues as they open the annual Strategic Dialogue between their two nations in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 13, 2015.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a joint press availability with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Melbourne, Australia, on February 11, 2022.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens to Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli during a brief bilateral meeting before he addressed delegates and before he signed the COP21 Climate Change Agreement on Earth Day, April 22, 2016, at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York, N.Y.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken hosts a Afghanistan Task Force and Relocation Volunteers Recognition Ceremony from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on December 20, 2021. The Secretary recognized the Department�s efforts to evacuate and resettle more than 124,000 U.S. citizens and Afghans over the past five months.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with a U.S. Congressional delegation led by Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks in Rzeszow, Poland, on March 5, 2022.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a virtual C5+1 Ministerial with Deputy Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Johnathan Henick at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2021.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in Washington, D.C. on August 25, 2021.

Office of the Deputy Secretary - Acting Deputy Secretary David Sampson with Hong Kong Minister

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks to Pakistani National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz and his colleagues as they open the annual Strategic Dialogue between their two nations in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 13, 2015.

Office of the Deputy Secretary - MEETING WITH DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF CHINA

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III co-host the 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, at the Department of State. Washington, D.C., Jan 11, 2023.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the Strategic Track Oceans Meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2015.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addresses reporters at a press conference with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly and their Mexican counterparts, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray Caso and Secretary of Government Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, following their high-level dialogue on strategies to combat transnational criminal organizations, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2017.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his delegation sit across from Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and their counterparts on July 8, 2016, at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, at the outset of a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Summit.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivers remarks to the press at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2022.

Hideki Tsuchimoto, commissioner of the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, Japanese Ministry of Defense, speaks with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall during a meeting at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., Sept. 9, 2022.

Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun meets with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 26, 2020.

Office of the Secretary - Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Greets Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, in Jakarta, Indonesia on October 29, 2020.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a virtual roundtable with local media from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 2022.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a joint press availability with Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, in San Jose, Costa Rica on June 1, 2021.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan addresses embassy staff in Tokyo, Japan on October 17, 2017.

Office of the Secretary - SECRETARY DONALD EVANS TRIP TO RUSSIA

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, in Amman, Jordan, on January 8, 2019.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivers remarks at a virtual COVID-19 Ministerial from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 10, 2021.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2021.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony "Tony" Blinken participates in a joint press conference with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama and Republic of Korea (ROK) First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam following their trilateral consultations in Tokyo, Japan, on October 27, 2016.

Office of the Secretary (Carlos Gutierrez) - Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade Small Group Meeting

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joins President Obama as he attends a SICA (Central American Integration System) Heads of State Meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, on April 10, 2015.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a meet and greet with employees from U.S. Embassy Chisinau in Chisinau, Moldova on March 6, 2022.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan delivers opening remarks at The Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. December 11, 2018.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in the virtual American Foreign Service Association memorial ceremony with AFSA President Eric Rubin on Foreign Affairs Day, from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on May 7, 2021.

Office of the Secretary - SECRETARY DONALD EVANS TRIP TO RUSSIA (9-21-05 TO 9-23-05)

Press briefing, concerning the President's International Initiative to Combat Kleptocracy, featuring remarks by Under Secretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs Josette Shiner, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich, and Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Pat O'Brien, among other officials.

Office of the Deputy Secretary - Acting Deputy Secretary David Sampson with Vietnam Deputy P/M

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in the OSCE Opening Session, in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 2, 2021.

Office of the Secretary - SECRETARY DONALD EVANS TRIP TO RUSSIA

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and President Ollanta Humala of Peru deliver a pair of statements to news reporters following a bilateral meeting in the Presidential Palace in Lima, Peru, on Dec. 11, 2014, and after the Secretary addressed the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Office of the Secretary - Central American Trade And Labor Ministers

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi makes opening remarks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, China, on January 27, 2016, at the start of a series of meetings with high-level Chinese officials focused on the Democratic People�s Republic of Korea and other regional issues.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, in Nicosia, Cyprus, on September 12, 2020.

Department Spokesperson Ned Price holds the Daily Press Briefing at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 31, 2022.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony "Tony" Blinken addresses reporters at a joint press conference with Republic of Korea First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama following their trilateral meeting at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2017.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a virtual meeting with ASEAN Foreign Ministers, from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on July 13, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo delivers remarks at the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC) Annual Doorknock, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 2019.

Bureau of Industry and Security - SIGNING CEREMONY WITH UNITED STATES AND CHINA

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Iraqi Foreign Minister Dr. Fuad Hussein, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on July 23, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the beginning of a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, on April 13, 2013.

Office of the Secretary (Carlos Gutierrez) - Partnership for Prosperity Good Partner Award

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens to Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic speak before members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization signed an Accession Protocol to continue Montenegro's admission to the alliance amid its biannual Foreign Ministerial Meetings on May 19, 2016, at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, joined by Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, signs a guest book upon arriving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a U.S.-Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 17, 2014.

NASA Leadership Meets with Republic of Koreas Minister of Foreign Affairs. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, right, greets Republic of Korea Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jin Park, as Republic of Korea Ambassador to the U.S. Taeyong Cho, left, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson look on, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington DC.

Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun and His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States, participate in the signing of the Enhanced Immunities Agreement with the United Arab Emirates, at the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2020.

Deputy Secretary Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and held first U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on July 13, 2015.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III co-host the 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, at the Department of State. Washington, D.C., Jan 11, 2023.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a joint press conference with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton, at the U.S. Department of State, on September 16, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits with Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche as they sign an agreement to hold loan guarantee negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tunis, Tunisia, on November 13, 2015, the prelude to a Strategic Dialogue with government leaders and a meeting at the Presidential Palace with President Beji Caid Essebsi.

U.S Secretary of State John Kerry addresses reporters as he and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili hold a joint news conference on July 6, 2016, at the Chancellery in Tbilisi, Georgia, following their attendance at the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission Meeting and a conversation between the Secretary and Georgian Foreign Minister Mikhail Janelidze.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hosts a swearing-in ceremony for the newest Civil Service Orientation Class at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia, on July 18, 2014.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison participate in a meeting with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 27, 2018.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias deliver opening remarks for the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue and sign the renewal of the U.S.-Greece Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on October 14, 2021.

Office of the Secretary - Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Trip to Moscow, Russia

Press briefing, concerning the President's International Initiative to Combat Kleptocracy, featuring remarks by Under Secretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs Josette Shiner, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich, and Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Pat O'Brien, among other officials.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony "Tony" Blinken and counterparts meet with university students on July 20, 2016 during the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Morocco.

60th Munich Security Conference. Annalena Baerbock (Alliance 90/The Greens), Federal Foreign Minister, meets the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi. Munich, 17.02.2024. Photographed on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Sudanese Vice President Kiir at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, New York, on September 22, 2010.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a virtual joint press availability with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2022.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in London, United Kingdom, on May 3, 2021.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with representative's of the Department's Mosaic affinity group, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on May 28, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila address reporters before their bilateral meeting at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on August 4, 2014. Leaders from across the African continent are in the nation's capital for a three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a discussion with Moldovan civil society representatives on EU integration in Chisinau, Moldova on March 6, 2022.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz participate in the U.S.-India Joint Strategic and Commercial Dialogue Opening Plenary with Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on September 22, 2015.

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