An American State and the US Embassy Working Together to Build American Jobs

On June 21, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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From left to right: Sweden’s Ambassador to the USA Jonas Hafström, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and US Ambassador to Sweden Mark Brzezinski. US Ambassador to Sweden Mark Brzezinski joins Sweden’s Ambassador to the USA Jonas Hafstrom in welcoming Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to Sweden to promote trade and commerce.

 

President Obama and Secretary Clinton have been clear:  Economic Statecraft and commercial diplomacy are a priority for every section in our Embassy.  The overlay between the commercial context and the strategic context has never been closer.  It’s about building jobs and conveying American values.  Every single job we create is a step in the right direction.  This is why US Embassy Stockholm is so pleased to welcome Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell to Sweden.

Ambassador Brzezinski and Governor McDonnell at the US Embassy reception for American and Swedish business leaders.

An American state’s CEO can be a deal closer, can convey better than most the unique combination that a state can offer in terms of infrastructure, tax benefits, public education and other qualities can combine to create a perfect opportunity for a Swedish investment in America.

 

Swedish Ambassador to the United States Jonas Hafström flew in for the Governor’s visit, and the Swedish Embassy in Washington collaborated in a highly effective fashion to make the case for Swedish investments in the United States.

US Embassy Stockholm’s commercial section (led by the able Frank Carrico) worked for months with the State of Virginia’s Economic Development office to develop a program whereby the Governor, his Secretary of Agriculture, and the state’s office for travel and tourism could meet with Swedish executives in banking, building and construction, infrastructure, agriculture (from wine to wood pellets), aerospace and defense, truck vehicles, industrial parts, logistics management, offshore windmills, biotech equipment, legal and accounting services, and travel and tourism operators to make a strong case for an investment in America. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in The Hague, along with AmCham Sweden and SACC-USA, also helped pull in decision-making executives with strong interest in Virginia. Very important for the Governor’s visit was the work of our Embassy Public Affairs Section in setting up an interview with Dagens Industri, the Wall Street Journal of Sweden. Results from the visit will be followed carefully by Embassy Stockholm.

With Virginia’s Finest: Ambassador stands with Sergeant Chris Clark (left) and Master Trooper Dave Johnson (right), both with the Virginia State Police Executive Protective Unit

Governor McDonnell and the First Lady of Virginia Maureen McDonnell met with business titans in Stockholm, including Jacob Wallenberg, a distant cousin of the famous Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg (who chose not to be indifferent during World  War II and saved thousands of Hungarian Jews).

The Governor also travelled to Western Sweden to the city of Gothenberg, where he met with Regional Governor Lars Bäckström and the Volvo Group CEO Olof Persson.

Building jobs and economic growth is a full time job – I was very pleased our Embassy’s Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) section worked so well with the Governor’s office and the Swedish Embassy in Washington to ferret out business leads.  We live in a globally interdependent economy, and building jobs and trade between countries can be advanced ably by state governors.

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A Model for International Security Cooperation

On March 27, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Today, at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt made history.  He announced that Sweden and the United States worked together to transfer plutonium from historical Swedish nuclear research and development activities to the United States for disposition under a U.S. nonproliferation program called the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI).  This is historic for a couple of reasons – it’s the first shipment of plutonium to the United States under the GTRI and will therefore be a model for other countries who seek to safely dispose of this type of material.  Additionally, it brings us one step closer to improving nuclear security worldwide.  I applaud the Swedish team for their commitment to global nuclear security and for their dedication to such a complex and technically challenging project.  Our two countries have worked on this project together for three years.

Foreign Minister Bildt’s announcement was a major result of a process launched at  the first ever Nuclear Security Summit convened by President Obama in Washington DC in 2010.  In April of 2010, 50 world leaders met in Washington to develop a plan to lock down nuclear material, disrupt nuclear trafficking, and prevent nuclear terrorism.  The leaders also decided that separated plutonium and highly enriched uranium would need special attention.  Permanent reduction of these materials would reduce the global nuclear threat.  In Seoul, world leaders came together for the second  Nuclear Security Summit to report on their progress and to make new commitments.  Speaking at the Summit, President Obama applauded the work that countries have done saying “we are fulfilling the commitments we made in Washington.  We are improving the security at our nuclear facilities.  We are forging new partnerships.  We are removing nuclear materials, and in some cases, getting rid of these materials entirely.”  As a result, the world is safer.

Sweden and the United States have once again worked together to tackle a serious and significant global challenge.  It is my hope that this cooperation will be an example for other countries looking to dispose of such material.  As President Obama noted in his remarks at Seoul, “no one nation can do this alone.”

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