Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Visit to Russia

Press Release

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today joined Department of the Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser to participate in the 4th Annual International Conference on Security Matters hosted by the Russian Security Council. During the conference, Secretary Napolitano discussed a range of issues, including efforts to secure and enhance aviation security, and Assistant Secretary Glaser stressed the importance of continued international cooperation to combat the threats posed by illicit finance.

"In our globalized era, threats transcend national borders, impacting the security and economic prosperity of the entire international community," said Secretary Napolitano. "Today's conference underscores the importance of collaboration with our international partners as we develop global transportation security standards to make our transportation systems more secure, while facilitating lawful travel and trade that drives economic growth."

While in Russia, Secretary Napolitano met bilaterally with Chinese State Councilor Meng Jianzhu, Korean Senior Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Security Ju Chul-Ki, Russian Federation Security Council Secretary General Nikolai Patrushev, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Yury Fedotov and other international counterparts to discuss a range of security related issues including aviation security, counterterrorism, and international collaboration to ensure global security.

Secretary Napolitano also delivered remarks on transportation security and international cooperation, where she highlighted the importance of multilateral, risk-based approaches to enhance security while facilitating legitimate travel and trade. In 2010, the International Civil Aviation Organization General Assembly adopted a Declaration on Aviation Security, providing a unified vision for strengthening security in areas of information collection and analysis, information sharing and passenger vetting, and the development of security standards.

Secretary Napolitano also wished the Russian government a successful 2014 Olympic games in Sochi, and reaffirmed the United States' commitment to working with the games' Russian hosts to ensure a secure event.

Last month, President Obama and Russian President Putin issued a joint statement to confirm a shared commitment to strengthening close and cooperative relations for the benefit of the peoples of our countries, international peace, global prosperity, and security.

Tomorrow, Secretary Napolitano will meet with French Secretary General for Defense and National Security Francis Delon and Guatemalan Deputy Secretary of the Technical Secretariat of the National Council of Security Marco Vinicio Mejia Davila. On July 4th to July 6th, Secretary Napolitano will travel to Seoul, Republic of Korea to meet with senior Korean officials to discuss supply chain security, and participate in a naturalization ceremony for U.S. service members stationed abroad.

For more information, please visit www.dhs.gov.

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