By Ellen Laipson

Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary
for International Organization Affairs, held a conversation with Ellen Laipson, President and CEO of
the Stimson Center, September 15 on “Multilateral Diplomacy and US Global
Leadership.”  The discussion was
moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.

Assistant
Secretary Brimmer and Ms. Laipson discussed this topic in preparation for the 60^th annual United
Nations
General Assembly. Given the transnational nature of current
international
threats and challenges, multilateral cooperation has become essential to
US
foreign policy. As the world increasingly turns to the UN to address
trans-border issues, US participation in the UN is key.

Through
Conversations With America, leaders of national nongovernmental organizations
have the opportunity to discuss foreign policy and global issues with senior
State Department officials. These conversations aim to provide candid views of
the ways in which leaders from the foreign affairs community are engaging the
Department on pressing foreign policy issues. From Afghanistan to India, the
New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) to the President’s Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and internet freedom to world water issues, the
Conversations With America series showcases how both the US Government and
civil society are working across the globe on issues that concern Americans
most.

View other Conversations With America here and by accessing the Conversations With America video
podcasts on iTunes.