US Assistant Secretary of State completes trip to France
US Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations Dr. Denise Natali’s trip to Paris ends today.
Natali met with senior French officials over four days to discuss enhanced collaboration on stabilisation, atrocity early warnings and response, and the US Global Fragility Strategy. In September, the US State Department fell short on delivering a comprehensive global fragility strategy. The US is expected to select five fragile countries and regions where new 10-year prevention-based pilot programs will be implemented. The programs will address signs of destabilisation to prevent another Syrian refugee crisis-type event.
In the short term, it is highly likely that the US State Department will use France’s fragility strategy as a framework to develop its own before the November US presidential election. Parts of Africa will likely be on the list of selected sates and regions, and France has stabilisation experience in the Sahel region, especially in Mali, and the Central African Republic. In the long-term, the US will likely look to France for future guidance on fragile states. France was the first country to adopt a global fragility strategy and remains a leader in the field.
