Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Visit to Vienna

[The Patriot]

Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Visit to Vienna

07-01-2011 04:00 AM

VIENNA—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today visited Vienna to meet with her international counterparts and deliver remarks to a joint meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council (PC) and Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC)—the world's largest regional security organization—underscoring the Obama administration's commitment to partnering with the international community on issues such as preventing and combating terrorism, improving border security and management, fighting the illicit trafficking of*drugs, tackling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and strengthening cybersecurity initiatives.

"Ensuring our common security is a global responsibility, and we must continue to work with our international partners to be vigilant to the evolving nature of the threats we face today," said Secretary Napolitano. "The United States will continue to strengthen our bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat terrorism and other transnational threats."

During her remarks, Secretary Napolitano highlighted the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) work with the OSCE to further strengthen international efforts to address transnational threats—including smuggling, trafficking, financial crimes, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction—and to support OSCE programs to fight terrorism and violent extremism while ensuring a continued respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. DHS also works in collaboration with many of the OSCE's participating states and partners to enhance international aviation, cargo and supply chain security.

While in Vienna, Secretary Napolitano met with Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner to discuss the close collaboration between the United States and Austria to combat terrorism—underscoring the important role that information sharing, including the analysis of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, plays in protecting the traveling public against acts of terrorism and combating serious transnational crime, and reiterating the Obama administration's continued commitment to strengthening security while protecting the individual privacy of passengers.

Secretary Napolitano also met with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Deputy Director General David Waller to discuss DHS' partnership with the IAEA to strengthen nuclear security cooperation and combat threats from nuclear and radiological terrorism. DHS works closely with the IAEA to help the international community strengthen national and regional-level nuclear and radiological detection capacities and promote a global nuclear security culture.

Yesterday, Secretary Napolitano visited Madrid to meet with her counterparts from the G6+1 (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK) to discuss U.S. efforts to work collaboratively with international partners to enhance the security of the global trade and travel systems.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov.

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