Rep Lieu Applauds State Department's New City Diplomacy Initiatives

Statement

Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement in support of the U.S. State Department's recent announcement introducing initiatives to support subnational diplomacy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. will host the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas in April of 2023. He also announced the launch of a new Cities Forward Initiative to support city diplomacy across the Western Hemisphere.

"This announcement from the State Department is a positive step forward in the effort to enhance federal support of subnational diplomacy. Throughout my time in Congress, I've been advocating for increased federal resources to support our mayors, governors, city council members and county officials on the world stage, including through my bipartisan bill, the City and State Diplomacy Act. Cities and states across our country have already been conducting subnational diplomacy with little-to-no support from the federal government. This has been a missed opportunity on both sides. I'm pleased to see the Administration recognizing the hard work of our local leaders and leveraging their talent to advance our foreign policy goals. I look forward to working together to ensure the federal government takes full advantage of leaders at all levels of government as we continue to forge key relationships with our counterparts abroad."

In July 2021, Congressman Lieu reintroduced the City and State Diplomacy Act, bipartisan legislation to establish an Office of City and State Diplomacy at the State Department, which would coordinate overall U.S. policy and programs in support of city and state engagement with foreign governments and officials. He has been a leader on this issue in Congress, garnering broad support for his legislation from fellow Members of Congress, the City of Los Angeles, the American Foreign Service Association, and others.

Read: Subnational Diplomacy: The Key to Strengthening U.S. International Relations -- by Congressman Ted Lieu in the Harvard Law School Journal on Legislation

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