US Assistant Secretary Cooper to visit Sri Lanka

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US Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs, R. Clarke Cooper would travel to Sri Lanka in early June, the Office of the Spokesperson of the State Department said.

A statement of the spokesperson’s office said Mr. Cooper was scheduled to visit Singapore, India and Sri Lanka from May 29-June 7.

In Sri Lanka, Assistant Secretary Cooper will meet with government officials and think tank experts to discuss security, peacekeeping, clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance, counter-terrorism, and other areas of mutual interest.

In India, he will hold talks on defence cooperation and peacekeeping, two key areas of the rapidly growing U.S.-India partnership as envisioned in the Administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.

In Singapore, Assistant Secretary Cooper will join Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Andrea L. Thompson on a delegation of senior U.S. officials led by Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick M. Shanahan for the Shangri-La Dialogue, a forum for exchanges among defense and security policy professionals from across the Indo-Pacific region.