The Secretary of State has appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer as its Special Representative for the Western Balkans. In this role, Palmer will lead our efforts to strengthen U.S. diplomatic engagement for peace, stability and prosperity in the region and focus on the integration of Western Balkan countries into Western institutions.
As special representative, Palmer will travel to Slovenia from September 1 to attend the Bled Strategic Forum. He will also represent the United States at the Quint Balkan directors’ meeting in Brussels and will participate in meetings in Vienna and Podgorica, September 4-10.
In addition to serving as Special Representative of the Secretary, Palmer will continue to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, a position he has held since 2018. Previously, he was Director of the Bureau of Central and south.
