Diplomatic Connections Nov/Dec 2018

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A Business, Diplomacy & Foreign Policy Publication

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2018 • $7.95

The Premier Ambassador Magazine

BUSINESS • POLITICS • TRAVEL • ENTERTAINMENT • CONGRESS • MILITARY & DEFENSE

H.E. ANDRIS TEIKMANIS Ambassador of Latvia to the United States

THERESA MAY British Prime Minister King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands

H.E. JOSE MANUEL ROMUALDEZ Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States

H.E. PJER SIMUNOVIC Ambassador of Croatia to the United States Spanish Royals meet France's First Couple

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Medical Experts

Alan Cohen, M.D., and Shenandoah “Dody� Robinson, M.D., pediatric neurosurgeons

Pediatric Neurosurgery Johns Hopkins Pediatric Neurosurgery is one of the top multidisciplinary centers of its kind. It has an international reputation for offering children and adolescents their best chance at making a full recovery from a range of general and specialized neurosurgical injuries, diseases and malformations.

Our Experts:

Alan Cohen, M.D., director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, treats all pediatric patients, with a special focus on brain tumors. He is a leader in developing minimally invasive techniques to enhance the safety and efficacy of selected pediatric neurosurgical procedures.

spasticity. Her research focuses on clarifying how early insults to the developing brain lead to deficits, such as cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and how to mitigate these deficits with neurorestorative agents.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-855-88-HOPKINS (U.S. Toll-Free) +1-410-402-5041 (International) hopkinsmedicine.org hopkinsmedicine.org/international

Shenandoah "Dody" Robinson, M.D., is a nationally recognized expert in the treatment of epilepsy and

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You don’t have to go far to begin your wellness journey

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Medical Experts Anthony Kalloo, M.D. Dr. Anthony Kalloo is a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. His interests are in natural orifice surgery, therapeutic endoscopy, biliary and pancreatic diseases, and sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. After receiving his medical degree from the University of West Indies Medical School, Dr. Kalloo interned and completed his residency in internal medicine at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He completed his fellowship training program at the combined Georgetown University, VA Medical Center and National Institutes of Health program. He was an instructor of medicine at Georgetown University prior to joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins in 1988. He was an associate editor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and has authored over 150 scientific papers, review articles and book chapters. He has pioneered and holds multiple patents, including the use of botulinum toxin in the gastrointestinal tract, endoscopic cryotherapy and the winged biliary/pancreatic stent. He is the pioneer of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery, a technique that enables abdominal surgery without the use of incisions.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-855-88-HOPKINS (U.S. Toll-Free) +1-410-402-5041 (International) hopkinsmedicine.org hopkinsmedicine.org/international

Anthony Kalloo, M.D.

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Nicholas Theodore, M.D. Dr. Theodore is the new director of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgical Spine Center. He is a nationally recognized expert in brain and spinal cord injury, minimally invasive spine surgeries, and robotics. As an award-winning teacher and researcher, he has written or co-authored 30 book chapters and over 175 peer-reviewed articles. He is also a co-holder of numerous patents for medical devices and procedures. His research focuses on trauma, spinal cord injuries, robotics, and developing an understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of spinal disease.

Dr. Theodore treats patients with all types of spinal disorders, including trauma, Chiari malformations, spinal deformities, degenerative and congenital spine conditions, and spinal tumors.

He received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-855-88-HOPKINS (U.S. Toll-Free) +1-410-402-5041 (International) hopkinsmedicine.org hopkinsmedicine.org/international

Nicholas Theodore, M.D., Donlin M. Long Professor of Neurosurgery

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MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL

Medical Experts

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Medical Experts Stephen Broderick, M.D., M.P.H.S. Dr. Stephen Broderick is a thoracic surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His clinical practice is based primarily at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., and he also has privileges at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Howard County General Hospital in Columbia, Maryland.

Dr. Broderick recently joined Johns Hopkins from St. Louis, where he was a thoracic surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

His clinical expertise includes surgical treatment of lung cancer, esophageal cancer and other thoracic malignancies, as well as benign thoracic conditions. He is particularly interested in minimally invasive surgery for lung cancer.

Dr. Broderick attended Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at NewYorkPresbyterian Hospital and his fellowships at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine in thoracic surgery.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-855-88-HOPKINS (U.S. Toll-Free) +1-410-402-5041 (International) hopkinsmedicine.org hopkinsmedicine.org/international

Stephen Broderick, M.D., M.P.H.S

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Vivek Kumbhari, M.D. Dr. Vivek Kumbhari is the director of bariatric endoscopy at Johns Hopkins Medicine, as well as an assistant professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has been practicing medicine at Johns Hopkins for five years and recently joined the medical staff at Sibley, where he sees patients on Mondays and Fridays. Dr. Kumbhari provides a range of services, including endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). His expertise includes minimally invasive, non-surgical therapies to facilitate weight loss and the treatment of obesity-related diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as performing endoscopic therapies to treat oncologic conditions involving the gastrointestinal tract.

Dr. Kumbhari has research interests in endoscopic innovation, interventional endoscopic ultrasonography, obesity, submucosal endoscopy and treatment of metabolic disease. He has contributed to over 150 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and invited reviews, and speaks both nationally and internationally.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-855-88-HOPKINS (U.S. Toll-Free) +1-410-402-5041 (International) hopkinsmedicine.org hopkinsmedicine.org/international

Vivek Kumbhari, M.D.

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MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL

Medical Experts

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Medical Experts Justin Benabdallah, M.D. Justin Benabdallah, M.D., is a urologist at Sibley Memorial Hospital, as well as an assistant professor of urology with the Brady Urological Institute and Department of Urology at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Dr. Benabdallah is board eligible in urology with the American Board of Urology.

He is trained in using minimally invasive and robotic surgery techniques in the treatment of prostate and kidney cancer and has expertise in endourology for the treatment of kidney stones. He also specializes in men’s health, including erectile dysfunction, male infertility, vasectomy and enlarged prostate.

Dr. Benabdallah earned his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

He completed an internship and residency in urology at the Medical College of Wisconsin and his fellowship in endourology and minimally invasive urology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, where he served as a clinical instructor in urology.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-855-88-HOPKINS (U.S. Toll-Free) +1-410-402-5041 (International) hopkinsmedicine.org hopkinsmedicine.org/international

Justin Benabdallah, M.D.

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Shaun Desai, M.D. Shaun Desai, M.D., is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon in the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.

Dr. Desai’s practice focuses exclusively on plastic surgery of the face, head and neck. Within the field of facial plastic surgery, his practice encompasses a broad spectrum of both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Cosmetic procedures include but are not limited to rhinoplasty, facial rejuvenation surgery (facelift or browlift), eyelid surgery, facial augmentation and wrinkle treatment (Botox, fillers and chemical peels). Reconstructive procedures include facial trauma management, microvascular or “free-flap” reconstruction of major head and neck defects after cancer or trauma, skin cancer reconstruction after Moh’s surgery, and the management of skin cancer, such as malignant melanoma.

Dr. Desai earned his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and completed an otolaryngology residency at BarnesJewish Hospital. He then completed a fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-855-88-HOPKINS (U.S. Toll-Free) +1-410-402-5041 (International) hopkinsmedicine.org hopkinsmedicine.org/international

Shaun Desai, M.D.

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MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL

Medical Experts

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Copyright 2018 by Diplomatic Connections All rights reserved.

Cover photo credits: H.E. Andris Teikmanis, Ambassador Latvia to the United States, Christophe Avril/Diplomatic Connections; British Prime Minister Theresa May, Jack Taylor/AFP/Getty Images; King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage; Spanish Royals and Macrons, Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images; H.E. Jose Manuel Romualdez, Ambassador the Philippines to the United States, Christophe Avril/Diplomatic Connections; H.E. Pjer Simunovic, Ambassador of Croatia to the United States, Paula Morrison/Diplomatic Connections

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CROATIA A SMALL COUNTRY with DETERMINATION

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A Heroic Soccer Team “Uplifted the National Spirit,” Says Ambassador Simunovic Roland Flamini

The 2018 FIFA World Cup was remarkable in many respects, not least in the achievement of the Croatian team which came close to winning the coveted trophy, but lost to France in the final. A country of four million people, Croatia produced a team of brilliant players whose successive victories against a string of formidable opponents gradually raised the level of national excitement in their home country to fever pitch, and – in the words of its ambassador to Washington, Pjer Simunovic, “uplifted the national spirit.”

In an interview with Diplomatic Connections, Ambassador Simunovic strove to put the team’s success in perspective, arguing that sport was only one aspect of a “serious” country’s activities - and Croatia was a serious country. However, the fact is that sport plays a central role regarding Croatia’s national identity, and Croatians are soccer-mad.

The team’s success gave Croatians a reason to be proud of their country despite a less than rosy overall picture. The economy could be performing better; young people are emigrating in droves, and, amid general political disenchantment a recent ex-prime minister has been found guilty along with his party, and convicted on corruption charges. Also, back home Croatian national soccer is mired in scandal, with the heroic team captain, Luka Modric, suspected of perjury.

Croatia was one of the six constituent communist republics of the former Yugoslav Socialist Federation whose post-Cold War fragmentation turned the Balkans into an ethnic bloodbath in the 1990s. It took armed intervention by the UN and the United States to end the strife that gave new meaning to the term “ethnic cleansing,” and the cessation of conflict was enshrined in an agreement cobbled together by Washington and signed in – of all places – Dayton, Ohio, on December 14, 1995.

A trail of the conflict’s after-effects continues to haunt the former belligerents in the shape of war crimes trials by a special tribunal in the Hague of assorted Serbs, Croats, 18

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H.E. PJER SIMUNOVIC Ambassador of Croatia to the United States

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attracted to its natural beauty, its long Adriatic coastline, and numerous islands, has been a lifeline to its economy; but as Ambassador Simunovic explains, the exodus of young Croatians to seek work elsewhere is one of its most significant problems.

A former journalist who once worked for the BBC’s now-defunct Croatian service in London, Ambassador Simunovic has successively been Croatia’s ambassador to Israel, deputy foreign minister, Croatia’s negotiator for entry into NATO, state secretary for defense, and chief-of-staff of the Croatian security council.

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Diplomatic Connections: How does a country with four million population end up almost winning the World Cup? Ambassador Simunovic: It did not come out of the blue, I would say. We are giving a whole new meaning to punching above our weight when it comes to sports. For one reason or another, football (soccer), basketball, tennis, water polo, athletics – sports are very popular in our country. We have good youth training procedures in our schools. It’s a great system and a competitive one, and football is extremely popular. It gets promoted as a national trait.

Diplomatic Connections: It is heavily underwritten by the state?

Ambassador Simunovic: I wouldn’t say so. Football very much manages itself on a commercial basis. It’s a confluence of other factors; we used to have a magnificent generation of Croatian soldiers from the NATO coalition watch a live broadcast during the final FIFA World Cup match between France and Croatia at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 15, 2018.

Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images

and Bosnians, residual resentments between the former constituent republics, and border disputes. Unquestionably, the war interfered with the process of reshaping Croatia’s post-communist society. It took Croatia 10 years of onand-off negotiations to finally join the European Union in 2013, in part because the EU said its democratic norms had not yet met requirements, but also because at one point neighboring Slovenia blocked entry over a disputed border.

With the birth of younger generations who experienced neither the communist regime nor the war, the passage of time is resolving Croatia’s transition problem.

Croatia had a somewhat easier entry into NATO and has a close strategic relationship with the United States.

There are Croatian troops in Afghanistan, and serving in UN peacekeeping operations. An ever-rising tide of tourists

Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Luka Modric and Nikola Kalinic of Croatia with Ngolo Kante of France seen during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Final between France and Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.

players in the 1990s [That Croatian team earned third place in the 1998 World Cup], now we have an extraordinary group of individuals who were able to forge a team, an extraordinary ability to play together.

Diplomatic Connections: There were celebrations, of course. But is there a lasting impact to this success?

Ambassador Simunovic: Too early to tell what kind of lasting impact it can have. Clearly, Croatia is a serious country dealing with serious issues such as its foreign relations, and national security, so there cannot be a direct correlation between a success in sports and everything else that is happening in the country. What is certain is that it has uplifted the national spirit. A pride in a very positive sense in who we are and what we can achieve. Interestingly, it came at a certain moment in the psychology of the nation which is important. We had been badly hit by the economic crisis, although a few years back the economy started to pick up, tourism is doing magnificently, and this success in Russia has certainly increased optimism about the future. Obviously, it has raised the profile of the country internationally.

Diplomatic Connections: What are your priorities as Croatia’s ambassador to Washington?

Ambassador Simunovic: To keep forging the strategic alliance we have been able to establish with the U.S. since the beginning of our relations, when we started to work together on how to end the war in Yugoslavia, how to stabilize the region, how to extend the integration of the Atlantic relationship, including ourselves. We have always acted as an agent to promote the European D I P L O M AT I C C O N N E C T I O N S B U S I N E S S E D I T I O N | N O V E M B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8

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Union and NATO. When it comes to fighting terrorism, we have troops in Afghanistan (and other critical missions across the globe). Military cooperation is the strongest pillar we have with the U.S. For us, NATO is the main pillar of our security, and the main institutionalized instrument in strengthening trans-Atlantic cooperation, which in our view is of absolutely irreplaceable value. After the last NATO meeting in Brussels, the first country Defense Secretary (Jim) Mattis visited was Croatia to meet us and our partners in the U.S.-Adriatic Charter (with Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro as members, and Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo as observers).

Natural Gas) terminal project on the (northern Adriatic) island of Krk, which should be one of the main elements in diversifying energy supplies.

Diplomatic Connections: Diversification being code for less dependence on Russian gas imports.

Ambassador Simunovic: Of course. The pipeline will enable us to work closely with American suppliers on a nice commercial footing. This is something which we see as being very much in U.S. interests, and very much a part of our discussions with our American friends.

Diplomatic Connections: What about the bi-lateral trade.

Diplomatic Connections: Presumably, you are in touch with the Croatian diaspora in the U.S. Where are the Croatians concentrated?

Ambassador Simunovic: Bi-lateral trade is below what we can do, and what we would like to have, on both sides.

The main element in the pipeline is the LNG (Liquified

Ambassador Simunovic: I was just on a tour of Cleveland, New York, San Francisco, Napa Valley. The concentration is in these places, plus Seattle, Texas. Very much all over the

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary of Defense James Mattis (C) speaks during the Special U.S. Adriatic Charter Defense Ministerial Meeting (A5) in Zagreb, Croatia on July 13, 2018, with Montenegro Minister of Defense Predrag Boskovic (L) and Croatian Minister of Defense Damir Krsticevic (R).

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place. In California, it’s huge. Pittsburg for a long time used to be the second largest “Croatian city.” If they’re from the coastal regions, they gravitated towards the fishing areas like Seattle, San Pedro, New Orleans.

be done. The trans-Atlantic link and the presence of the U.S. in Europe is a fundamental ingredient of international stability, it’s in Europe’s interest and in our interest.

Diplomatic Connections: You mentioned NATO. Do you share the unease of some Europeans that the Trump administration might not be as committed as in the past to the North Atlantic Alliance and Article 5 in the alliance treaty the principle of mutual defense?

Ambassador Simunovic: It’s up to the Americans to decide what their strategic interests are, but we can say that for them (NATO) is an investment from which they also benefit a great deal - for example, our nation being with our American friends in their hour of need in the aftermath of 9/11, when the U.S. invoked Article 5. The only time that Article 5 has been invoked - it was for the United States.

We should go beyond the daily declarations, and go to the essence.

Ambassador Simunovic: Not really. If you look at the big picture, you’ll see that when it comes to what’s happening on the ground the U.S. is undertaking greater measures than it has been doing for decades, and has even strengthened some new ones in terms of the military, and the Pentagon, including the enhanced formal presence in Europe. What President Trump is certainly advocating for in a very vocal way is the necessity for more equitable burden-sharing: but before him, other American presidents did the same, and it’s something that has already been agreed upon. Of course, he’s more expressive and more robust. We’re moving towards that goal. The Croatian government adopted a special decision reconfirming it will reach the goal of 2 percent of GDP. That has been the pledge for a long time: most countries have not fulfilled that pledge for domestic reasons, and it has to

Diplomatic Connections: What about U.S. interests?

Diplomatic Connections: What is the popular feeling in Croatia today on membership of the European Union?

Ambassador Simunovic: When we became independent from Yugoslavia inherent in the idea of becoming independent was membership of the European Union. The idea was to re-integrate with the West in all its aspects – liberal democracy, free markets, human rights, prosperity, alliance, Western civilization. When the time came for negotiations we didn’t need a referendum to join NATO, it was a parliamentary vote, but there was one for the EU, and the result was 60 percent in favor.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary of Defense James Mattis (C) wearing a Croatian football scarf given to him by Croatian Minister of Defense Damir Krsticevic (R) joined by Montenegro Minister of Defense Predrag Boskovic (L) during the Special U.S. Adriatic Charter Defense Ministerial Meeting (A5) in Zagreb, Croatia, July, 2018.

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Diplomatic Connections: But has that acceptance changed?

Ambassador Simunovic: The unfortunate turn of events was that Croatia’s entry into the European Union in 2013 coincided very much with the unease in the union caused by the 2008 financial crisis, the crisis with Greece, then the Brexit came, so many of the things taken for granted for decades, like the structural fund, the ever-deepening integration, solidarity- the great ideas of the fathers of Europe, Adenauer, Schumann – came to a certain reexamination due to pressure from different quarters. In our case, people were not able at the time to see the direct advantages of membership because we had been hit by the crisis; they were not able to fully understand that we were much better off with the instruments with which the EU was helping us. In Croatia, the crisis was sharpened by a certain lack of structural reforms which should have been done earlier. But how do people see the European Union in Croatia these days? When it comes to the country as a whole, philosophically we are still committed to the idea of perfecting this union as the best way of keeping Europe free and safe. What ordinary people think on a daily

basis is hard to tell. They may not have such an immediate understanding.

Diplomatic Connections: Is Croatia in the eurozone?

Ambassador Simunovic: Not yet. The plan is to introduce it when Croatia, for the first time, has the EU presidency in the first half of 2020, and that will be another big moment.

It will increase our visibility as an EU member.

Diplomatic Connections: That will be after Brexit.

Ambassador Simunovic: Yes, and without the Brits, the European Union will be losing a lot. There will always be an England, so that I would be less worried about - the fate of the UK. Britain provides the European Union with a lot of Anglo-Saxon pragmatism; the UK was always a proponent of enlargement, but not of the ever-deepening, and that idea of ever-deepening has ended up provoking a lot of friction [“ever deepening” the union is specified in the Treaty of Rome]. Without the UK (the EU) will have lost a certain equilibrium; we know what the European Union will look like without the British, but what will truly change? That is still to be seen. We certainly wouldn’t like

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NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) foreign ministers attend a working dinner at Cinquantenaire park during a NATO Summit in Brussels, on July 11, 2018. NATO leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss Russia, Iraq and their mission in Afghanistan.

a European Union which is a coalition of great powers. We see it as an equitable organization in which we can work out our differences nicely with a bit of goodwill from all sides, and without the dictate from a major power.

Diplomatic Connections: Would the Croatians today – twentythree years later – accept the Dayton Accord?

Bosnia and externally, because of lack of vision, lack of engagement, other things happening in the world.

Diplomatic Connections: Do you think that, having put together the Dayton Agreement the Americans didn’t follow through walked away from the problem?

Ambassador Simunovic: That’s a hypothetical question, but yes, because with all its imperfections it enabled peace to prevail after a bloodbath and a terrible war, and the prospects of even further mayhem. (Serbia’s President Slobodan) Milosevic had been stopped and pushed back militarily, and that enabled Dayton. The agreement was realistically possible, with the Americans playing a major role. The Dayton Agreement was not meant to be a permanent solution; it was a cease-fire agreement

Ambassador Simunovic: The Dayton Agreement was a major revolutionary instrument to end the war and to establish a framework, within which the actors would be able to work their way towards including membership of the European Union and NATO. The reconciliation that has been achieved following the intensity of the conflict was remarkable. In Bosnia, you get statements, you get many things which are not nice, but they are not shooting at each other. You have the disturbing level of Russian penetration in the region, but that is a separate issue. One of the objectives of our

to open the way forward to reach a durable and lasting political solution. It was not meant to be the last thing, but without the enactment of something else it ended up being so. It should have been replaced by a more formal institutionalized arrangement a long time ago. But it wasn’t, because the circumstances were such within

foreign policy is to keep the flame of enlargement alive.

Some EU and NATO members, particularly old members, are suffering from enlargement fatigue. Eventually getting Macedonia, Serbia into NATO, we can help them actively with our experience, and politically advocating the enlargement.

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Diplomatic Connections: How difficult are relations between former belligerents in the war?

Ambassador Simunovic: If you use the benchmark of the mayhem and bloodshed of the 1990s, we have made a lot of progress. Today there are people traveling all over the Balkans. There’s a record number of Serbian tourists visiting the Adriatic, people from Croatia visit Belgrade.

You see political statements one way or another, criticizing each other; you see some occasional outbursts, but in the main – and again, considering what had happened – this is truly amazing. Cooperation is going on at different levels.

On the surface, and beneath the surface, at the level of human relationships and friendships, at the level of cultural exchanges, things are much more optimistic than you would believe from reading certain media in Serbia, or in Croatia, Bosnia, or Macedonia.

connects with the soccer, and the level of optimism in the country. If part of that optimism will result in fewer people leaving the country that would be the greatest effect of our almost victory at the World Cup. Younger Croats leaving is a product of the years of recession; it’s a product of communism, and many other things. After World War II it was the men who emigrated north – the so-called guest worker generation – leaving their families behind, so they were shuttling back and forth and sending money back.

Now, the most disturbing development is that people sell everything and the whole family goes, and once they go in such a manner it’s hard for them to come back. Maybe we shouldn’t be so pessimistic. It happened earlier in other

Diplomatic Connections: How would a Croatian father react to the announcement that his daughter planned to marry a Serb?

Ambassador Simunovic: Intermarriages at the pop star and celebrity-level are a big thing that gets a lot of media attention, but otherwise it’s absolutely a normal thing. The trickiest relationships in the former Yugoslavia are between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians.

Diplomatic Connections: The war apart, how did Croatia transition from communism to a democratic society?

Ambassador Simunovic: Communism, apart from being a totalitarian system, was also an economic system, so the wounds went deep, and it took longer to heal. The problem we’re facing in terms of getting rid of the communist legacy is having to deal with the double transition. We were transitioning from communism to democracy, and from peace to war and back. There was no time to evaluate who did what during communism, and to debate on it because we ended up facing war immediately. Now, there’s a big ideological debate ongoing in our country between those who want lustration (cleansing a new regime from the remnants of the past) and those who say, how can you do it now? Certain things you can always do, when there is a legal case of responsibility for an act which is not subject to any amnesty, and there is always time to get things right, but that’s how it ended.

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Diplomatic Connections: But does the new generation stay in Croatia, or does it migrate, as in the case of Central European countries?

former communist countries in central and eastern Europe, and I read that now they’re returning.

Diplomatic Connections: What advice would you give a fellow ambassador about working in Washington?

Ambassador Simunovic: There are differences of magnitude, it depends on the size and the nature of the country you represent: that very much conditions your priorities and the way that you are seen in this city, what you need to do, and how you need to do it. To get the attention of the Americans you have to be a great power: that helps. Or you have to be a big problem that also gets their attention.

And the third slot, in which we think we are, is a country which is not a great power, not a great problem, but an ally helping to contribute to the issues which are important both to the Americans and to us, and that gains you leverage. The U.S. asks you to do something, which may not at that moment be visibly in your immediate interest, you do it, then you gain a certain right to ask for their support for something which may not be in their interest.

It’s a transactional relationship but in an indirect sense.

Diplomatic Connections: Ambassador Simunovic, thank you for taking the time to speak with Diplomatic Connections. â–

(L/R) Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel (C) with his partner Amelie Derbaudrenghien (L) and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (R) greet each other as they arrive for a working dinner at The Parc du Cinquantenaire - Jubelpark Park in Brussels on July 11, 2018, during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.

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A Media Man in the

a n e r A c i t a m o l Dip An interview with Ambassador of the Philippines

H.E. Jose Manuel Romualdez

MICHAEL D. MOSETTIG

Before Donald Trump, there was Rodrigo Duterte.

In May, 2016, the vocal populist was elected President of the Philippines, a nation of 105 million people sprawled across more than 7,000 Pacific islands. His election marked the beginning of a populist, nationalist wave that would soon roll to Europe and to the United States.

The mayor of Davao in the southern island of Mindanao has run second only to Trump in garnering international headlines, referring to President Obama in some of the most unfavorable ways in expletive terms as well as publicly berating Pope Francis for causing traffic jams in Manila. And drawing particular attention is his war against drug dealers, which Human Rights Watch estimated has led to more than 12,000 killings.

Coming into office, Duterte immediately asserted his independence on the global stage, visiting Beijing, making economic deals with China and setting aside an international tribunal case, initiated by his predecessor, that vigorously rejected Chinese claims to islands near the Philippines.

But gradually, and since meeting President Trump late last year, the Philippine leader has begun re-positioning his country, authorizing more joint military exercises and strengthening military cooperation, including anti-terrorist campaigns in the south. The Philippines is one of four Asian nations with a mutual security treaty with the United States.

And like Trump, Duterte has benefited from a strong economy, a growth rate above six percent. Even so, more than two million Filipinos still seek work around the world, many as domestics in near servitude. They send home more than $30 billion. But from Hong Kong to the Persian Gulf, according to advocacy and human rights groups, overseas workers, especially young women, who are subject to physical, emotional and sexual abuse, are often quelled into the most inhumane circumstances and even found murdered in various countries around the world.

But the largest Philippine diaspora, which grew in part from forty plus years of American military and colonial rule until independence in 1946, is in the United States. More than three million U.S. citizens claim Filipino descent. Another part of the U.S. legacy is that the Philippines are the third largest English-speaking 30

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H.E. JOSE MANUEL ROMUALDEZ Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States

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nation in the world after the U.S. and India, as the populace speaks its native Tagalog but begins studying English in elementary school.

A principal link to the diaspora community as well as being a key steward of U.S.-Philippine relations is the country’s Ambassador to Washington, Jose Manuel Romualdez. He presented his credentials last November.

The one time journalist and media executive is the third in his family to serve in that post, and in the family-oriented networks of Philippine politics is a nephew of former First Lady Imelda Marcos. For a while the youngest among seven children, he is known to a wide circle in Manila and Washington as Babe.

Diplomatic Connections is pleased to join Jose Manuel Romualdez, Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States, at the Philippine embassy. Your excellency, welcome to Diplomatic Connections.

Diplomatic Connections: Since the 2016 election of President Rodrigo Duterte there has been much tumult, even invective, in the relations between the Philippines and the United States. Now, two years later, how would you characterize the state of relations between the two countries?

Ambassador Romualdez: I’ll just say one word, it’s very stable. Stable because, obviously, President Duterte and President Trump had a meeting in Manila last November at the ASEAN summit, and I understand they hit it off very well and that somewhat rebooted our relationship with the

Ayee Macaraig/AFP/Getty Images

This general view shows the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on February 14, 2018, as the carrier strike group takes part in a routine deployment mission in the South China Sea, one hour away from Manila. With a deafening roar and earthshaking vibrations, fighter jets zoomed off U.S. carrier USS Carl Vinson as it navigated in the waters of the disputed South China Sea in what its admiral said was a tangible sign of American presence in the region.

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United States on a personal basis. I think President Trump and President Duterte have a healthy respect for each other and, more specifically, a great appreciation for the sovereignty of each nation. President Duterte has always believed that every nation has their own issues, they have to solve their own problems, and, of course in turn, they expect all the other countries to respect each other also. I imagine President Trump feels the same way about other countries having to take care of their own respective problems.

Diplomatic Connections: So, given that there are these two vocal, not shy personalities at the top of their governments, do you see your job as having to sort of tune out that noise

sometimes and keep the even key, or the expression you’ve used in the past, working government to government?

Ambassador Romualdez: Well, yes, very often, I expect you are likely posed with the same challenge here, or perhaps there are times when you have to explain some of the things that each leader says. President Duterte has been described as expressing himself in, some people say, a colorful language, which could be explained I guess by someone in my position, the ambassador, to interpret what he really wanted to say and especially emphasizing the things he feels most strongly about, and obviously his drug war is something very important to him because that was what he promised the Filipino people when he ran for president in 2015.

Diplomatic Connections: Let’s go through some of the specifics. First, the Philippines is one of America’s four Asian treaty allies. How would you characterize the military relationship? Is your government convinced that the U.S. will live up to its treaty commitments and continue to remain an Asian and Pacific power?

Ambassador Romualdez: Well, I will be very honest to say that there’s been a little bit of doubt in the past, but I think today we are convinced that, and this has been actually communicated to our military, the Mutual Defense Treaty, which was signed in 1951, will be honored by the United States.

Our president himself has said that we will likewise honor that treaty. I understand that’s been established and so we’re confident that this treaty will be implemented, if need be.

Diplomatic Connections: And it seems that military cooperation, after a bit of a lull, is growing, particularly on two fronts: more joint naval exercises, American support for an expanding Philippine Navy, and also on counterterrorism operations in the South.

Ambassador Romualdez: Yes, absolutely. We definitely need this kind of an agreement that we have in place with the United States which is the Visiting Forces Agreement, enhanced later on to the EDCA, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. We regard this agreement as extremely valuable and highly significant to both countries,

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Philippines foreign minister Cayetano meets with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on March 21, 2018 in Beijing, China.

considering that we do have problems, particularly with terrorism.

these matters will be resolved not only bilaterally but also through the entire ASEAN region.

Diplomatic Connections: When President Duterte came into office, one of the first things he did was visit Beijing. He initiated economic projects with China and did not pursue the international tribunal ruling on the Philippines sovereignty of islands in the West Philippine Seas or South China Seas.

How does your government view China now, as a friend or an adversary?

Diplomatic Connections: What efforts is your government making to assert the Philippines’s sovereignty as well as resource rights in these waters?

Ambassador Romualdez: From my viewpoint, we have to just look back at exactly what President Duterte had planned when he first stepped into the presidency. He did say that he wanted to engage with China, specifically on economic trade, which is very important for us, and he felt that a bilateral trade, or a bilateral conversation, would probably be the best way in solving some of the issues with them. And I think that he’s been able to successfully do that with the visits that he attended. In fact, President Xi is coming to the Philippines on a state visit this coming November, and I think that is one way of our being able to engage with China and having a serious discussion on the issues surrounding the West Philippines Sea. We hope 34

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Ambassador Romualdez: Well, that one I think is going to be more apparent in the next couple of months because President Duterte has said that towards the end of his term, and he told President Xi this himself when he visited China, that he will have to sit down and discuss the issue of the West Philippine Sea. Diplomatic Connections: Now, speaking of this part of the visit, the one we’ve been talking about, China committed to 24 billion dollars worth of infrastructure projects in the Philippines, but so far according to reports, there have been a lot of delays in these commitments, perhaps up to 15 billion dollars worth – there’s not been progress on. Is your government convinced that China’s going to live up to those commitments?

Ambassador Romualdez: Well, we’re a very patient people, we—I think—Filipinos generally always give whatever agreements there are – a little bit of slack. We’re hopeful

that many of these agreements will be fulfilled by China, but we’re also looking at other countries. Our finance secretary and our economic team, they’re moving around in the ASEAN region and looking at having participants in what we call the “Build, Build, Build” program of the Philippines, which is a massive infrastructure program, 175 billion dollars which will be spent in the next six to ten years to expand the economy. This is from north to south, it’s not just limited to China alone. So, in other words, there are competitors to this opportunity for other countries to invest in the Philippines. Japan, for instance, is playing a major role in our infrastructure program, and there are other countries that are also interested to come in, and we are also going to do the same thing here in the United States, we’re going to have some economic forums where we will invite American companies to come into the Philippines and participate in the fastest growing economy in Asia.

Diplomatic Connections: Well, on that note, as you just said, the Philippines has been among the most dynamic Asian economies, six percent plus growth over the last decade, but there have

been some warning signs recently. Inflation is going up, growth slowed a bit in the last quarter, a drop off in commitments from foreign direct investment. Do you think the country and the government are going to be able to sustain this good growth rate in the future?

Ambassador Romualdez: Our financial managers are constantly monitoring the economic situation in the Philippines. As a matter of fact, just recently the new speaker of the house, former president Arroyo, had actually proposed that the budget be on a cash basis, not on a non-cash basis, which means to say that budgets will be created. But, of course, our budget secretary thinks otherwise, and she also has proposed that we cut taxes on several things like meat, which are inflationary in nature, and all of this to say we’re continuing the discussion on how we can manage the economy. I think over the past 10 to 15 years, the Philippines has managed its economy quite well and that’s why this is where we are today. I am very confident that we will continue to do so in a very good way where our growth will be consistent and constant in the next couple of years.

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Diplomatic Connections: What are the prospects for a new U.S.Philippine trade agreement in the first place, or the Philippines joining, at some point, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but which of course no longer includes the United States?

Ambassador Romualdez: We’re currently in a serious discussion concerning a free trade agreement with the United States. Conversations have already begun, especially after President Trump’s visit to Manila last November, and the progress seems to be a little slow, which is natural.

Both countries have to issue a lot of consultations, but we’re very hopeful that this kind of agreement is going to be good for both countries in the long run.

Diplomatic Connections: Do you envision joining at some point the TPP? Ambassador Romualdez: At the moment, there is no significant plan for us to join any of those agreements, or the TPP, and there are other economic treaties that are being worked on, especially in the ASEAN region; therefore, it’s all very fluid at the moment. Right now, I would say that we are keen on having investments from major countries like the United States, China and Japan and even in Europe. Our doors are open for business.

Diplomatic Connections: So you’re obviously speaking of other

trade deals, does that include Russia?

Ambassador Romualdez: Yes, we have with what our foreign secretary Secretary Cayetano said, “We would like to be friends to all and enemies to none.” So we’d like to really have as many friends as possible, this is a global world, it’s a global economy; thus, we’d like to have good relations with all nations.

Diplomatic Connections: You referenced potential foreign investors, mentioning specifically the Japanese; they are among those who’ve expressed concern about uncertainty and the rule of law in the Philippines. How is the government explaining to these investors, and to other governments, its commitment to the rule of law, especially in view of all the commentary about the extrajudicial killings in the drug war and, on a different level, even the jailing of one of the President’s leading political opponents, Senator de Lima?

Ambassador Romualdez: Allow me to reiterate that the president promised that he was going to go on an all out drug war; and I myself, I’ve been observing the Philippines for numerous years and I didn’t realize, like many others, how serious of a problem this was in our country. So, I think many Filipinos see and acknowledge that now. The killings, I would say, this was explained to me by one of our police directors; even the retired police general told

Xinhua/Xie Huanchi via Getty Images

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 10, 2018.

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of how serious it has been. The attention on the drug war was actually initiated by President Duterte. In other words, when he went on an all out drug war, obviously there were some police officers involved in the drugs, and the drug cartels if you want to say that and drug lords, were actually killing each other. That was obviously clear to many of those who were investigating the so-called extrajudicial killings. But, more than that, I think is the fact that President Duterte’s government actually has gotten rid of over close to a hundred police officers who were themselves involved in drugs. So, it’s a continuing problem, but we are also doing something about the rule of law, meaning we are doing something about the police officers who themselves are doing the killings, because they want to get rid of potential witnesses to their crimes.

it’s also clear, and I was in media for many, many years, some of our media people can be abusive in the use of the freedom of the press. They just write anything they want and without any reservation whatsoever – even if it’s not true. They still put it out and then there is no apology; there is nothing. One of the things many of us in media wanted to have done was for government to legislate the right to reply, meaning if you have someone who criticizes you, the newspaper or the broadcast station that puts it out, the person who was actually criticized of whatever wrongdoing has the right to reply and they must publish it on the same page or in the same time, the air time that was given to the broadcast journalists to criticize them.

Again, these are the things that are a part of what we want to see because as I said, the Philippines is known to have

Diplomatic Connections: Is there any sign that this anti-drug campaign is actually working?

the freest press in the world.

Ambassador Romualdez: Unfortunately, President Duterte himself just said the other day, he doesn’t foresee the drug problem to be completely solved by the end of his term.

That’s how serious a problem it is. Although, there are clear indications that the drug situation is manageable in a way that we could say that it is not as rampant as it used to be, and how bad it was when he first came into power.

Diplomatic Connections: Now, you’re a journalist. Is press freedom secure in your country because the issue of the denial of license to the Rappler site, the President’s denunciation of certain media outlets, are cited by press groups and others who are worried about the status of press freedom in the Philippines.

Ambassador Romualdez: Some say that in Asia, or even in the world, the Philippines is probably one of the freest press, to the point that they can be libelous in the way they criticize personalities. I think in the case of Rappler as well as the networks that are involved, the President himself actually has said that they did some things that were illegal. For instance with Rappler, there is a constitutional law that media must be owned 100% by Filipinos and it was clear in the SEC papers that were recently investigated revealing that they are not 100% owned by Filipinos. It could be considered a technical situation, but its still the law. So if you’re going to say the rule of law, then it’s clear that Rappler is not being truthful in saying that they are 100%, which gives the feeling from the government that they are being influenced by outside forces to be an instrument of using it to criticize. I might add, not only criticize but to sort of like put in stories that they feel are biased against the government. But I think more than that,

Diplomatic Connections: One of your key jobs is staying in touch with the Filipino diaspora in the United States and there are more than 3 million American citizens of Filipino descent here. But, there are some estimates that as many as another 300 thousand Filipinos are residing in the U.S. without proper documentation. This administration, one of its signature policies is cracking down on people who aren’t properly documented and even deporting them. How are you negotiating these issues with the administration?

Ambassador Romualdez: I think, for the 300 thousand that you mentioned, some of them are in the gray area where they can still actually become legal by simply arguing it in the courts, but those that are clearly illegally staying here in the United States, even our President has said that if you break the law in another country then you have to pay the price, the price means your deportation, and you have to accept it. I think that it has been made clear and we’ve made it clear also. However, for those Filipinos who have a chance to stay here, we obviously will try to do what we can and help them legally as well. If they live in an area where they probably have some kind of a contact with their local congressman or senator, we try to help them to see whether they can be assisted in staying here in the United States. But definitely we do not endorse people who are staying here, or even in another country, illegally.

Diplomatic Connections: I mean it’s not easy for a Filipino living in Manila or Davao or, for that matter someplace else, to get a visa to come to the United States. And, there’s been some political agitation in the Philippines. Americans don’t need to get a visa to go to the Philippines; although, the reverse is not the case. I, myself, recently went to the Philippines just on my passport.

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Ambassador Romualdez: That’s true. Well there’s always that talk, its reciprocal or eye for an eye. I think realistically, I’ve always told many of our friends that we understand the United States. There are a thousand and one people who want to come to the U.S., it’s obviously where your dreams come true, so to speak. I’ve told people that there are two countries where you don’t want to burn your bridges and one of them is the United States. The other one, of course, is your own country. So, that’s what I always advise Filipinos who are living here, if it’s time for you to go home, go home because one day you may want to return. This way, you can apply and then legally go back as a visitor or, if there’s a change in the immigration law, you can live in the United States.

Diplomatic Connections: Some people I know in the international finance business world say that one of the real strengths in the future of the Philippine economy is the number of Filipinos who came here to work, doctors and nurses make good salaries, and as they reach retirement age they want to go home to their country, in a more favorable living environment.

Are you encouraging that or is it just sort of happening, and do you see it as a real economic boost for your country?

Ambassador Romualdez: I take some healthy pride in

saying that many of our workers remit about 26 billion dollars, maybe even more this year, right into the economy.

And we, Filipinos, are forever grateful to the 12 million Filipino workers who live abroad, send this back home to their families, even to their extended families and the economy has survived a lot of ups and downs because of these remittances. But in the long run, of course, there is still the social problem, and many of these issues can be connected to the drug situation. These young children of maybe the age of 10 or 15, their parents are working outside of the country, just to be able to bring them to school, and so there’s no parental guidance. They probably get into drugs and all of the money perhaps goes to waste.

All of that is taken into consideration. Of course, the hope of any government, President Duterte is no exception, is that we’ll have more jobs in the Philippines to help less people having to depart and leave their families.

Diplomatic Connections: The relationship between a colonizing country and the country that has been colonized is always complicated, but there’s one ongoing story currently, developing even as we speak, that the United States is ready to return the church bells to a town called Balangiga that were seized 117 years ago after U.S. soldiers killed an untold number of Filipinos

Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano is greeted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prior to their meeting on June 21, 2018 at the State Department in Washington, D.C.

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(L-R) High Commissioner of Malaysia Dato Hidayat Hamid, Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand Chaisiri Anamarn, Minister of Communication Brunei Darussalam Abdul Mutalib, Ambassador of Cambodia Pickhun Panha, Singapore's Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia A.N. Fachir, Myanmar's Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor U Kyaw Tint, Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dzung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos Thongphane Savanphet, Assistant Secretary of Foreign affairs of Philippines Maria Hellen B dela Vega and Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) of ASEAN for Political and Security Community (APSC) Hoang Ahn Tuan during the tenth edition of the Delhi Dialogue in New Delhi on July 19, 2018. - Delhi Dialogue is an annual event to discuss politico-security, the economic and socio-cultural engagement between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The theme this year is 'Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation.'

following a guerrilla attack on their base. Now, you’re a writer with a sense of history, how do you look at this often tumultuous relationship between these two countries, colonial rule, the violent fight against it, with the present day situation where we have millions of people with personal, intimate relations between the two countries. How do you see that playing out now and into the future?

Ambassador Romualdez: That’s part of the history of many nations, I think if you were at war with the British once, and there are other countries, you were at war with Japan, Vietnam, and now you are having great relationships with these countries. I think the Philippines is no exception, except that maybe the Philippines is unique in a way because right now 80% of Filipinos trust the United States as a partner and as a country. They would like to see the U.S. be present in the Philippines in terms of economy, economic trade, and even a military alliance is very much supported by Filipinos, and so we have a long history together and it’s something that nobody can undue. It’s a very tight relationship, many Filipinos, in one way or the other, either have friends, relatives, brothers, sisters who are actually living here in the United States, and every

other Filipino wants to get a U.S. visa to come visit here.

So, it’s a familiar relationship that I think is unique for both countries. In fact, when I visited some of the U.S. senators here, many of them have nothing but good things to say about the Filipino communities that live in their area, and that makes me feel great about being the ambassador here.

Diplomatic Connections: And, so you think this is a relationship that will continue to flourish?

Ambassador Romualdez: Oh, yes, absolutely, I have no doubt that this relationship is going to be as tight as it ever was, and there could possibly be a few bumps along the road, but at the end of the day it will still be like we are brothers and sisters, part of a very large family.

Diplomatic Connections: Ambassador Romualdez, thank you very much for joining Diplomatic Connections with this very interesting interview.

Ambassador Romualdez: Thank you very much for inviting me. ■

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ERNEST MEDICINE The new DOCTORS TO YOU docuseries that aims to tell the story of the current state of healthcare in America, the history of medicine, and our patients’ stories.

In our years of caring for patients, we’ve heard many of their stories and memories of how healthcare used to be. Sadly, these stories are quickly becoming lost to age and time.

Ernest Medicine is a docuseries that attempts to capture these precious memories from a time when house calls were the norm and care was personal. We hope that by shedding light on how things were, we might just change the way things are in the future.

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The image you see is from our pilot episode. Dr. Brown and patient Vera hold each other as he assures her that he will return the next day to check on her.

“Good, ‘cause I really need you”, replies Vera.

We visit patients both far and wide who fondly recall the days of house calls as well as people from around the world who have experience with different healthcare systems.

While we hope viewers find it to be entertaining, it is not “entertainment”. It is real people, their stories, and often their pain

– pain caused by flaws in the current healtcare system that plagues our country.

As we continue to produce this series, we want to engage with our diplomatic colleagues to help show how medicine in their countries is juxtaposed to healthcare here in the US, which is all about business and little to do with medicine.

Join us at DOCTORS TO YOU as we challenge the system and bring medicine back to the way it was.

Contact us at info@doctorstoyou.com using the subject line “Ernest Medicine”.

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LATVIA A C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H

Ambassador

Andris Teikmanis

Roland Flamini

They know a thing or two about fake news in Latvia, the small Baltic state where a continuous media war is being waged between Russia’s state-controlled press and Latvian news outlets. The Russians keep up a barrage of propaganda to which the Latvians respond with denials, corrections, and the true facts. Favorite Moscow subjects include Latvia’s membership of the European Union – a fatal error, according to the Russians, that has ruined Latvia’s economy – Latvian mistaken membership of NATO, when only Russia can offer real protection, and Latvia’s misguided alignment with the West.

Latvia freed itself from nearly half a century of Soviet control in 1988, but still has the largest ethnic Russian minority in the Baltic (a quarter of the 2 million total population).

Most of them were forced to settle there by the Soviet regime. However, Latvian Ambassador Andris Teikmanis told Diplomatic Connections in an interview that Russians in Latvia know they are materially better off than they would be under Moscow’s control, and show no signs of unrest.

Like Estonians and Lithuanians, Latvians have put their faith in membership of both NATO and the European Union to protect them from their Russian neighbor. For what it’s worth, Russia has formally denied that it would ever attack a NATO country. In April 2018, the presidents of the three Baltic states marked their 100th year as independent states with a visit to Washington and a summit meeting with President Trump and other top administration officials.

The trio were warmly received at the White House in part because all three countries are among the handful of NATO member 42

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H.E. ANDRIS TEIKMANIS Ambassador of Latvia to the United States

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British Royal Marines come ashore as they take part in Exercise Joint Warrior on April 26, 2018 in Dundrennan, Scotland. The exercise involved some 11,600 military personnel from seventeen nations, in one of the largest exercises of its kind in Europe, operating out of Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde. The bi-annual exercise ran from April to May and incorporated all three UK services as well as forces from 16 other nations including Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S.

countries in compliance with Trump’s insistence that all countries in the Atlantic alliance meet the recommended goal of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense. Ambassador Teikmanis said the Baltic states had received assurances of the U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the NATO treaty which guarantees that the alliance will support any member state that is under attack. He pointed out that under its Enhanced Forward Presence program, NATO deploys a battalion-size multi-national battle group in each of the Baltic states and in Poland.

Diplomatic Connections: What is your assessment of the Baltic summit in Washington in April 2018, where your president and his counterparts from Lithuania and Estonia met with President Trump and other members of the administration?

Ambassador Teikmanis: For the Baltic states the summit was the political event of the year. It had a symbolic meaning: it took place in the year of centennial,

and it reiterated the long-lasting relationship between the Baltic states and the United States. A hundred years ago, the U.S. offered quite extensive help to the young Baltic states. At the summit, we spent quite some time preparing a common declaration, which stressed the cooperation between the United States and the Baltic states in security policy, but also put an emphasis on economic cooperation, educational programs, and media projects. What was unique in this summit was the cooperation of the Baltic nations, and that’s what we are doing quite regularly – doing things together. This started thirty years ago with the independence movement in 1988, and it has proved a really serious and efficient cooperation.

Diplomatic Connections: In the run-up to the summit, President Vejonis of Latvia said that the Baltic states “expected a very strong political message from the U.S. expressing support for strengthening Baltic security, and expressing once again support for the independence of the Baltic states.” In your view, did the Baltic states get what they wanted?

Ambassador Teikmanis: They did. The common declaration is being implemented, and this year the U.S. Congress endorsed $170 million in additional funding for Baltic security and defense issues, which is quite an amount.

Cooperation is closer. Latvia is purchasing a few more (Sikorsky UH60) Black Hawk helicopters.

Eric Lalmand/AFP/Getty Images

Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis (L) is welcomed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) as he arrives for the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on July 11, 2018.

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A K20 reconnaissance drone of the German Armed Forces launched in the photo above is shown parachuting to earth (below right) in the NATO exercise Thunder Storm 2018 in Lithuania. A later combined Alliance exercise Saber Strike 2018 was held across all three Baltic states.

Diplomatic Connections: There is a certain amount of skepticism elsewhere in Europe about the current administration’s commitment to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which guarantees support to any NATO nation that comes under attack. You don’t share that skepticism?

Ambassador Teikmanis: We’ve had many discussions about the role of NATO, before the American elections and after.

But aside from the discussions, NATO has also made some recent decisions. The alliance has been very consistent in its decisions to strengthen European security, efficiency, chain of command, and cooperation between NATO countries, and carrying out programs like the Enhanced Forward Presence. It was a solid NATO decision that deployed NATO troops in the Baltic states. In Latvia, the leading country is Canada; in Estonia, it’s the UK; in Poland, it’s the U.S.; in Lithuania, Germany is the leading country. And that’s something real: NATO boots on the ground is a real guarantee of regional security for the Baltic states, and a proper response to all the challenges coming from Russia.

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Diplomatic Connections: The Enhanced Forward Presence is a combined force, is it not?

Ambassador Teikmanis: Besides Canada, there are forces from seven NATO countries represented, including Spanish, Italian, Slovak, Polish and Hungarian.

Diplomatic Connections: With reference to the security threat, isn’t 30 percent of the population of Latvia ethnic Russian?

Ambassador Teikmanis: Well, 25-26 percent is ethnic Russian, but we don’t consider this minority as a potential threat.

Diplomatic Connections: One thinks of Ukraine in a more or less similar situation with a large ethnic Russian minority…

Ambassador Teikmanis: Absolutely not similar. The situation is quite different.

Diplomatic Connections: How is it different?

Ambassador Teikmanis: First, we have a remarkable understanding between different ethnic groups in Latvia, and we’ve never had any kind of conflict situations with the Russian minority. We have quite a lot of minorities, and all

the (religious) confessions, and they are living very, very peacefully together. The level of wealth (of ethnic Russians) is quite a bit higher than in Russia, and people know it.

Pensions are higher than in Russia, and so are wages, and people have no wish to seek protection from Mr. Putin because they understand they can lose a lot. At the same time, they feel secure because Latvia is a member of NATO and of the European Union and is very distant from the Russian agenda.

Diplomatic Connections: So in what way does Russian pressure on Latvia manifest itself?

Ambassador Teikmanis: The pressure is continuous, and we are aware of all kinds of hybrid Russian activities, including through its traditional media. We know it, and we are prepared for it. It doesn’t get them anywhere. Newspapers, television, wide use of social media, different kinds of bots – they are all used to spreading disinformation, fake news. They use news agencies located in Latvia and receive direct instructions from Moscow on what kind of narrative to put out. One familiar theme is that the Baltic states are failed countries; the decision to join the European Union was the biggest mistake and their economies are in a free fall. The decision to join NATO was another error because only Russia can defend and give security to the Baltic states. Our own journalists are doing a remarkable job of uncovering the mechanism – how the news is being prepared and disseminated, who are the sources. With the October elections, the Russian activity increased. We have good contacts with FaceBook and other social media to be able to react quickly to Russian fake news. Our experience shows the importance of critical thinking and education.

Ambassador Teikmanis: Relations with Russia go up and down; they have been warmer, and not so warm. The Russians have regular surveys to determine who are Russia’s enemies, and the Baltic neighbors are constantly near the top of the list. The countries keep changing, you can be a friend, and then an enemy. Ukraine is now one of the biggest Russian enemies. The United States is permanently among the top places. When I was Latvian ambassador to Moscow, there was a survey in which 49 percent of Russians believed Latvia was an enemy, but now it’s about 33 percent. I don’t think this reflects real public sentiment; people may be influenced by Russian media, particularly Russian television, depending on what is happening or not happening at the time. But otherwise, we are very much interested to maintain and develop a relationship with Russia, and it depends on Russian policy, on security issues. At the same time, we’re trying to maintain an economic relationship, but that’s influenced

Diplomatic Connections: In other words, there’s a continued media war being raged between the Latvian media and Russian propaganda.

Ambassador Teikmanis: Yes, and it’s really ongoing. But in terms of security, we are safe. We are safe for our development, we are safe for investment, we are safe for doing business, because we’re NATO members and we know that Russia respects borderlines separating NATO territory and Russian territory. Every meter of our common border with Russia is very clearly marked, and it’s safe.

Diplomatic Connections: Given that the Russians bombard you with propaganda, what is the state of bi-lateral relations with Moscow?

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by sanctions and counter-sanction regimes. The sanctions regime has had an impact on our trade with Russia, but it’s about 8 percent of foreign trade. Our imports from Russia are basically oil and gas.

Diplomatic Connections: You depend on Russia for oil and gas?

Ambassador Teikmanis: Not so much on oil. Our oil imports are more market oriented. For many decades Russia has been the single natural gas supplier, but now that’s over.

We’re working together with our Baltic neighbors on gas pipeline projects with Estonia and Finland, and with Poland, there’s an LNG terminal in Lithuania. So Russia is not our only supplier. And that’s what the European Union’s energy policy means – more inter-connection, more diversity, more market orientation.

Diplomatic Connections: Crossing the Atlantic, how would you characterize Latvia's bi-lateral relationship with the United States?

Ambassador Teikmanis: It’s very strong, and I would predict that it will remain that way. We rely on the United States as our strongest partner in security policy, in defense policy. This embassy is working to increase our economic relationship - at the Baltic Summit, we also had a BalticU.S. business forum in Washington, and there will be a follow-up business forum at the end of November.

Diplomatic Connections: What are the numbers of U.S.-Latvian trade?

Ambassador Teikmanis: In goods and services close to $100 million, and I think we have room to grow. Investments are going in both directions: Americans are investing in Latvia, but Latvians are also investing in the United States.

Two years ago, I visited quite a big production site of a Latvian print company in North Carolina, called Printful, with some 200 employees. It now has a second production site in California. I was also present at the inauguration of the Valmiera Glass Group’s new fiberglass factory in Dublin, Georgia, a Latvian company with U.S. space and aviation contracts.

Diplomatic Connections: And presumably there’s a Latvian diaspora with which you are in contact.

Ambassador Teikmanis: Very much so. They count around 100,000 Latvians in America, mostly post-war refugees who came to the U.S. in the late 1940s and the 1950s. They are centered here in Washington, in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. They are well organized, very active and they maintain very strong links to Latvia as well.

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Diplomatic Connections: If the 2003 referendum in Latvia to join the European Union were held today, what do you think would be the result – more people wanting to join the EU, or less?

Ambassador Teikmanis: It’s quite difficult to predict. I would definitely say that the majority would endorse EU membership, although Latvians are habitually very critical of everything, starting with their own government.

They’re always critical of the European Union, but in the (2003) referendum two-thirds voted for membership. It’s really difficult to say whether there would be a higher percentage, or less. But with all the criticism and all the discussions about the developments within the EU, and the constant predictions of the end of the union, the deepening integration of the European Union has been ongoing. Latvia is also a signatory of the Schengen Agreement (removing border restrictions), so a whole generation of Latvians has grown up not having to take note of borders between European Union countries.

Diplomatic Connections: No Brexit effect in Latvia?

Ambassador Teikmanis: Well, Brexit is an issue for the European Union, although there are so many unanswered questions about the consequences of Brexit, and still a lot of opposition within the United Kingdom itself.

Diplomatic Connections: How is Brexit going to affect Latvia, both in terms of its bi-lateral relations with Britain, and its posture within the European Union?

Ambassador Teikmanis: It certainly has political implications.

The United Kingdom has always been the strongest promoter within the European Union of free markets, open markets, (advocating) the abolishing of any kind of barriers and promoting trade with the rest of the world. The Brits were supporters of a common European security. Of course, they will remain NATO members, and European security is based on NATO. Today, we have discussions about a European army and European defense, but I think it’s impossible. At the same time, the European Union can do things that NATO cannot. For instance, the European Union can promote European military mobility: that’s what we don’t have today.

Diplomatic Connections: What’s different about Latvia from its Baltic neighbors?

Ambassador Teikmanis: There is a commonality of language with Lithuanians. With Estonians, we have common history: in medieval times were both part of Livonia. We have common traditions like song festivals: all three nations

share a unique Baltic experience going back 150 years of holding huge song festivals. There are also a lot of common co-operation projects between all three nations.

At the same time, we are separate countries and we are in permanent competition with each other, although there are some issues on which they should cooperate, such as tax issues. Why? If the taxation is more favorable in Estonia, then Latvian companies will move to Estonia, and vice-versa. We compete in soccer; we don’t compete in ice hockey. Only Latvians are scoring better and always in the finals against other nations. We compete very strongly in basketball.

communication. Political thinking proliferates, and the density of top quality think tanks is probably the highest of any capital. And, of course, I will tell them that to know the country and its people, go out of the Beltway as many times as possible. Because Washington is not America, and doing business in America requires a lot of travel.

Diplomatic Connections: Mr. Ambassador, on behalf of Diplomatic Connections, thank you for your valuable time and thoughtful observations. ■

Diplomatic Connections: Unusual for a career foreign ambassador, this is your first Washington posting. So what advice would you have for incoming ambassadors about how to operate in Washington, D.C.?

Ambassador Teikmanis: I would tell them U.S. government departments are very big, and that it’s much easier for a foreign ambassador in Latvia or Lithuania to approach a government minister than it is to approach a U.S. cabinet secretary. But we ambassadors have intensive contacts with the State Department, and our American colleagues in Washington are very professional and good at maintaining

Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto via Getty Images

President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Greece Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, Slovenian President Borut Pahor, President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis, President of Finland Sauli Niinisto, President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, President of Poland Andrzej Duda, President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, and President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen during a family photo at the 14th informal meeting of the Arraiolos Group at Rundale Palace in Rundale, Latvia on September 13, 2018. The Arraiolos Group meeting brings together heads of states from 13 countries - Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, and Slovenia.

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THERESA MAY British Prime Minister

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at 10 Downing Street to make a statement on the Brexit negotiations following a European Union summit in Salzburg, September, 2018.

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THE DEADLOCK OVER BREXIT AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT Chequers has been the week-end country retreat for British prime ministers since 1921.

A stained glass window in the house calls it “a place of rest and recreation for (Britain’s) prime ministers for ever.” But this summer, Chequers, a 1,000 acres of Buckingham countryside 41 miles from Downing Street, became the focus of tough negotiations. It was here that Prime Minister Theresa May persuaded leaders of her Conservative Party to accept her proposed exit deal with the European Union.

In what has become known as the Chequers Proposal, the British government will leave the EU customs union, allowing it to make trade deals with other countries, but wants to keep access to the EU market on tariff-free terms, as before the impending divorce. To make this more palatable to Brussels, Prime Minister May proposed to continue to accept EU regulations for industrial goods and agricultural products. The deal will also mark the end of an open borders policy, thus shutting off free access to the U.K. for European immigrants, which was one of the major drivers in the vote for Brexit. The deal also calls for the restoring of English law and ending the jurisdiction of the European Court.

Two of May’s ministers, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and David Davis, the UK negotiator with the European Union, opposed the Chequers deal as falling well short of a real Brexit, and promptly resigned, making May’s already shaky position as prime minister and leader of the Conservative party even more tenuous.

Worse, in September, May presented her deal to the European Union at a summit of leaders of the 28 member states. Downing Street called it “the only plan on the table,” but the European Union wasn’t impressed. May’s request effectively to retain a privileged position in the single market was rejected, increasing the likelihood of no agreement being reached by the March 29, 2019 deadline. The European Union

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With no deal by March, Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Russell Mead predicted that “onerous trade barriers will snap into place.

The likelihood that post-Brexit Britain will suffer severe economic shocks and dislocation is growing.”

Not surprisingly, pro-Brexit members of May’s government blame EU intransigence for looming failure of an amicable divorce. “The intransigence of the (EU) commission is pushing us towards no deal,” lamented Liam Fox, the British secretary for international trade. But European Union leaders, even those who sympathize with the U.K., fear that if Brexit terms were too favorable other member states might be tempted to follow and the union will be inexorably weakened.

An extension of time for further negotiations seems unlikely because of the EU’s insistence on Article 50, which sets the time table of a withdrawal from membership at two-years.

Some see a glimmer of hope in the shape of a withdrawal treaty covering the issues already agreed (payment of the 39 billion pound - $51 billion – settlement, disengagement from the European Court’s jurisdiction, closing borders, etc.)

– but leaving a trade deal to future negotiation.

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argued that non-members couldn’t enjoy the same access as members. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission: “If you leave the union, you are of course no longer part of our single market, and certainly not in the parts of it you choose.”

Observers say the September meeting showed that, with the Chequers deal dead in the water, the positions of the United Kingdom government and the European Union remain far apart. The two remaining fixed key dates in the negotiation schedule are a final EU summit in mid-October to complete and approve a withdrawal agreement or treaty, and then, of course, Brexit Day, March 29. All of which means that the May government will have had little time to go back to the drawing board.

If an agreement could be reached, Prime Minister May would have to spend the intervening months pushing it through a deeply divided British parliament. The European Union, for its part, would need to secure the approval of at least 20 out of the 27 member states. But at the time of writing, pessimism was growing that a “crash out” of the European Union was the most likely outcome.

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Wiktor Szymanowicz/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Although the question is, will this compromise formula be acceptable to either the hard-Brexit (complete divorce) supporters in the U.K. or the hard-liners in Brussels?

One unresolved issue is how to deal with the two Irelands, the Irish Republic, which is, and will remain an EU member, and Northern Ireland, a component part of the United Kingdom. The May government is opposed to setting up a customs border between the two parts of the Emerald Isle because it would be divisive. The EU fears that the open border would give access to duty free EU goods to the UK through an Irish “back door.”

One proposal, which still has to be agreed upon, is to hold customs inspections at sea of goods destined for Northern Ireland.

The British had to fight hard in the 1960s to be finally admitted to what was then called the European Economic Community; 45 years later, they are having to fight just as hard to make a satisfactory exit. President de Gaulle stalled Britain’s application because he believed that admitting the British would lead to undue U.S. influence. He was convinced that Britain was more Atlanticist than truly Europe. The present European Union leadership is determined to not

(L-R) Former Labour MP Gisela Stuart, former Brexit Secretary David Davis MP, Jacob ReesMogg MP and former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers MP attend an Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) panel discussion to launch their latest Brexit report at One Whitehall Place on September 24, 2018 in London. The IEA put forward their proposal for Brexit negotiations as an alternative to British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Chequers plan.

Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade Liam Fox (L) and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Wright (R) arrive for a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London to discuss postBrexit immigration policy and Chequers proposals for leaving the European Union following the EU summit in Salzburg on September 24, 2018 in London, England.

allow the Brits to have their cake and eat it, too.

The uncertainty has continued to give shape to the notion of a second Brexit referendum, which many either feel - or hope - will reverse the original decision to leave the EU. At its annual party conference in September, the opposition British Labour Party, which has been steadily gaining support as the Conservative Party has declined and could win an election if one was held, voted overwhelmingly for a motion making a second referendum an option.

EU officials pour cold water on the likelihood of another referendum. One Eurocrat called it “not a solution to anything,” and told Reuters news agency, “The first referendum is still keeping us busy. And will (the Brits) want to have a third one in two years?” ■

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Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images Stephane Cardinale-Corbis via Getty Images

King Felipe of Spain, Queen Letizia of Spain, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron arrive at the Grand Palais to visit the Miro exhibition on October 05, 2018 in Paris, France.

The Spanish royal couple visited Paris to attend the 'Miro, La couleur des reves' (in english: This is the color of my dreams) exhibition and participate in an official dinner with Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte at the Elysee Presidential Palace.

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(L-R) Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana, Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess Charlene of Monaco, British actor Orlando Bloom, American signer Katy Perry, German model Toni Garrn and Brazilian model Lais Ribeiro attend the Monte-Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean 2018 on September 26, 2018 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.

news

Princess Beatrice of York attends WE Day UN 2018 at Barclays Center on September 26, 2018 in New York City.

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for WE Day

Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

R

in the

Norway's Queen Sonja poses with French President's wife Brigitte Macron before visiting the Pierre Corneille high school in Rouen, northwestern France, on September 24, 2018.

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Queen Sofia of Spain attends the Red Cross World Day on October 4, 2018 in Madrid, Spain.

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Queen Letizia of Spain attends the Red Cross World Day on October 4, 2018 in Madrid, Spain.

Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands arrive at the Binnenhof for the annual opening of the Parliamental year Prinsjesdag on September 18, 2018 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attends the 20th anniversary of the Leidsche Rijn area in Utrecht on October 5, 2018 in Utrecht, Netherlands.

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(L-R) Andreas Norlen, new Speaker of the Parliament with Swedish Royals: King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, and Princess Sofia as they take a moment to pose for a picture upon arrival to the opening of the Swedish Parliament Riksdagen on September 25, 2018 in Stockholm.

Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage

The Swedish royal family arrives by horse and carriage at the opening parliamentary session at the Riksdag parliamentary house on September 25, 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, meets children during his visit to Acorns Children's Hospice in Selly Oak, Birmingham, central England on September 18, 2018. Acorns Children's Hospice provide specialist care for life limited and life threatened children and their families. During his visit, the Prince met some of the families who use the hospice's specialist facilities, which include a multisensory room and hydrotherapy pool. The charity was originally opened in 1988 by his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

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Prince William greets Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and students during the official opening of Japan House London, the new Cultural Home of Japan in the U.K. on September 13, 2018 in London, England.

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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex greet local school children in Brighton during an official visit to Sussex on October 3, 2018 in Brighton, United Kingdom. The Duke and Duchess married on May 19, 2018 in Windsor and were conferred The Duke & Duchess of Sussex by The Queen.

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Tabatha Fireman/Getty Images

Chris Jackson/AFP/Getty Images

Prince Harry gently hugs a student as he meets with young people on a visit to Joff Youth Centre in Peacehaven in East Sussex, southern England, on October 3, 2018. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their first joint official visit to Sussex on October 3 where they met young people from youth groups across East Sussex to hear their strategic plans and priorities around emotional health and wellbeing.

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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, greets local school children in Brighton, U.K.

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Thomas Mukoya/AFP/Getty Images

Prince William gives sports equipment to pupils during his visit at the Ol Maiso primary school in Laikipia on September 30, 2018.

Thomas Mukoya/AFP/Getty Images

Prince William poses for a photograph with members of a community soccer team during his visit Ol Maiso primary school in Laikipia on September 30, 2018.

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Peter Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, talks with school children during her visit to Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden in London on October 2, 2018. Sayers Croft is a residential activity center based in Surrey, which is owned by Westminster City Council. It aims to involve children and the local community in the environment, providing outdoor facilities for those who may otherwise be unable to access them.

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Page 83 (L-R) Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Conleth Hill, Emilia Clarke, Gwendoline Christie, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Jacob Anderson, Nathalie Emmanuel, Liam Cunningham and Kit Harington of 'Game of Thrones' attend the 70th Emmy Awards Press Room at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

For the entertainment community, the Emmys have become a periodic signpost of changes in the industry as new program providers emerge and make their mark. In the late 1990s, HBO, then a fast-rising cable channel, was the writing on the wall for the three established networks (ABC, NBC, CBS).

The 2018 Emmys saw a role reversal in which the relative newcomer Netflix emerged as a serious challenger to HBO.

THE AWARDS shaped up to be a two-way horse race, but the final result was honors even, as each took home 23 awards. HBO’s Game of Thrones took the biggest prize, the Emmy for outstanding drama series; and the sprawling historical fantasy, whose upcoming eighth season will be its last, also won six other awards.

Netflix scored five wins with The Crown, with the best actress in a drama series Emmy going to Claire Foy, the “outgoing” Queen Elizabeth II who has now been replaced by an older version of the monarch, and for directing. Netflix also gained awards for the limited series Godless (with Jeff Daniels and Merritt Weaver winning as supporting actor and actress), and Black Mirror, among others.

Another newcomer, Amazon, captured the Emmy’s other big award: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was the winner in the outstanding comedy series category. Rachel Brosnahan, as the Jewish housewife turned standup comedy performer, also scored the lead actress award. In addition, Mrs. Maisel took the writing and directing (for comedy) awards, plus Alex Borstein as supporting actress.

Critics noted that The Americans, long a critical favorite, had finally won recognition after six years of being ignored by the academy, with an award continue to page 86

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Dan MacMedan/Getty Images

(L-R) Sheila R. Lawrence, Michael Zegen, Daniel Palladino, Amy Sherman-Palladino and Rachel Brosnahan pose with their Outstanding Comedy Series awards for 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' in the press room on September 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

IN

David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

TWO-WAY HORSE RACE ENDS IN DRAW

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Scarlett Johansson

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Claire Foy

Steve Granitz/WireImage Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

Mandy Moore

Heidi Klum

Keri Russell

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Dan MacMedan/Getty Images

As usual, it was the acceptance speeches – or some of them – that brought the show to life, notably the moment when the director Glenn Weiss, who won an Emmy for directing an earlier variety special (The Oscars), made Emmy history by calling his girlfriend Jan on the stage, getting down on his knees and proposing to her. Another historical “first” was when Jeff Daniels (Godless) thanked the horse he rides in the series, Apollo.

Betty White, and Henry Winkler were two figures from a distant age. White (eight continue to page 88 Tracee Ellis Ross

to its lead writers, Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields. They also noted the reversal of fortune of The Handmaiden’s Tale. After sweeping the board in 2017, the show was swept aside this year by Game of Thrones.

The NBC Primetime Emmys production itself earned no praise. The trade newspaper Variety said the two presenters, the Saturday Night Live regulars Michael Che and Colin Just “failed to raise the energy level of the room, or even to claim the room as their own.” Quite possibly, the television academy needs to re-think the evening’s formula to take greater measure of the proliferation of programming and providers. It’s a fair bet that many in the audience will not even have heard of some of the nominated shows. And it is hard to even remember that there was a time when everyone watched just three television channels.

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John Shearer/Getty Images

Angela Sarafyan

Dan MacMedan/Getty Images Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images Steve Granitz/WireImage

Kristen Bell

Tatiana Maslany

Samira Wiley

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McCain in the tribute to show business personalities who died this year. Given that the senator’s connection with entertainment television was tenuous at best, showing him along with Aretha Franklin and Burt Reynolds had some built-in political message.

But otherwise, the Emmy show turned inwards, focusing on industry problems like lack of diversity and the issue of sexual harassment, which is running like a cancer through the top ranks of the entertainment business.

Jessica Biel

continue to page 90

Emmys and 24 nominations) was emotional; Winkler philosophical about being honored for the first time long after he was first (unsuccessfully) nominated – “I only have 37 seconds,” he said. “I wrote this 43 years ago.”

Possibly, the media’s disappointment with the Emmys was in part due to the almost complete absence of any echo of last year’s strong political and social overtones. There were no references to Donald Trump, and no protests by the MeToo movement. Rachel Brosnahan urged the audience to vote in the mid-terms. “One of the most important ways that we can find and use our voices is to vote,” she said. “Go and vote and bring a friend to the polls.” But that was virtually it for political statements, except, perhaps, for the surprise inclusion of the late Sen. John 88

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Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Joey King

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a white strapless Calvin Klein gown of classic simplicity with a giant bow at the back; the vertiginous plunging neckline of Scarlett Johansson’s white Balmain creation; Angela Sarafyan in a black, crystal-embellished Christian Siriano ballgown with a full-skirt of overwhelming dimensions; Sandra Oh (who brought her parents as her date) in belted, monochromatic red grown by Ralph & Russo; Project Runway host Heidi Klum encased in a blush pink gown from Zac Posen. ■

Penelope Cruz

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Some did focus on the scattering of political statements in what the stars wore – or, in some cases, almost wore – but the pickings were slim. There was no mandatory dress code along the lines of the black dresses worn at the Golden Globes earlier in 2018, and it was business as usual in the fashion department. Among the many eye-catching gowns on the red carpet: Claire Foy in Thandie Newton

mmYs e Tiffany Haddish and Angela Bassett

Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Issa Rae

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increase revenues ■ Procure experienced building staff and contractors

range of Metropolitan’s services to support the Diplomatic community are:

SECURITY ■ Analysis of space to assess safety ■ Recommendations for security cameras, identification and access control ■ Provision of security staff for consulate and specialty events

For more information, please visit our website WWW.METPACPROPERTIES.COM, call or email:

(212) 944-9100 info@metpacproperties.com

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Ampeer Residences offers fully furnished residences with flexible accommodation terms, from 30 days to 12 months. Perfectly situated in the heart of Historical Dupont Circle, you are steps away from the best that Washington has to offer. Beautifully appointed social spaces are available exclusively to our residents and their guests. Enjoy breakfast in our Social Kitchen and evening hors d’oeuvres in our Grand Ballroom with cocktails crafted by our inhouse Mixologist.

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CUSTOMIZE YOUR OWN FOUNDATION FROM 8000 SKIN TONES. BLENDED FOR YOU AT THE LANCÔME COUNTER.

Choose your color, coverage and hydration level.

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The Ultimate Driving Machine ®

THE STATE OF LUXURY.

BMW OFFICIAL EMBASSY SALES PROGRAM.

If you’re looking to represent your embassy in style, look no further than the Ultimate Driving Machine.

Embassies located in the U.S. can benefit from special incentives through the BMW Official Embassy Sales Program when purchasing an embassy fleet or flag vehicle used for official business.

Choose from a variety of stylish models like the BMW 5 Series, BMW X5, and BMW 7 Series.

For personal use, the BMW Diplomatic Sales Program is available to foreign diplomats stationed in the U.S. and returning American diplomats, as well as staff and qualified members of international organizations.

For program details, please contact your local BMW center.

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