Communiqué on Visit of Marc Grossman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Embassy Bogotá, August 27, 2001

Communiqué on Visit of Marc Grossman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Embassy Bogotá, August 27, 2001

Visit of Marc Grossman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman will head an interagency delegation on a visit to Colombia from August 29th to 31st. The delegation will include SouthCom Commander General Peter Pace, USAID Deputy Administrator Janet Ballantyne, Assistant Secretary of State Rand Beers, National Security Council Special Assistant John Maisto, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Andre Hollis, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lee Warren, and Acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Bob Brown.

Under Secretary Grossman and members of his delegation will meet with President Pastrana and Colombian Government counterparts, including Vice President and Defense Minister Bell and Foreign Minister Fernandez de Soto. The delegation will also meet with UNSYG Representative Jan Egeland, Colombian government officials and representatives of Colombian NGO and human rights communities. During their visit to Colombia, delegation members will visit counter-narcotics training and operations centers at Larandia and Tres Esquinas in southern Colombia.

Under Secretary Grossman plans to hold a press conference on Friday morning, August 31st, prior to his departure from Colombia. The Embassy Press Office will advise details to the Colombian and international media.

Under Secretary Grossman is leading the highest level U.S. delegation to visit Colombia since the Bush Administration took office. The purpose of the visit will be to review implementation of Plan Colombia, discuss aspects of the U.S. Administration's Andean Regional Initiative, and underscore continued close cooperation between the United States and Colombia to combat narcotics trafficking, support social and economic development and promote democratic institutions.

Marc Grossman was sworn in as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs on March 26, 2001. He has been a career Foreign Service Officer since 1976. He was Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources from June 2000 to February 2001, and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from August 1997 to May 2000. From November 1994 to June 1997, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey.

Bogotá, D.C.
August 27, 2001

As of September 5, 2001, this document was also available online at http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/co1/wwwhmg02.html