The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced details of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming travel, the second time she will venture overseas since assuming the job. IA statement from acting spokesman Robert Wood said the secretary will travel to Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Belgium, Switzerland, and Turkey from March 1–7, 2009. “Secretary Clinton will attend and participate in the donor's conference for Gaza recovery hosted by Egypt on March 2. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell and other high-level representatives will be in attendance in Sharm el-Sheikh with the Secretary during the conference. The Secretary also will meet with senior Egyptian officials,” Wood said. “After the conference, Secretary Clinton will travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories and meet with senior officials,” the statement said. From there, Clinton will head to Brussels to “attend an informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on March 5, where she will consult with Allies and seek consensus on the approach to the upcoming NATO Summit.” Clinton will also attend a meeting with foreign ministers from all NATO and EU countries, as well as Switzerland, intended “to further boost transatlantic relations,” Wood said. Clinton then heads to Geneva to will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The two will “discuss a number of issues of mutual interest, including possibilities for a follow-on agreement to START, and deepening our cooperation in areas such as Afghanistan,” the statement said, referring to a key disarmament agreement. “While in Ankara Secretary Clinton will meet with key Turkish officials,” the statement added.
