State Department officials are planning meetings with Blinken’s counterparts at NATO in Brussels and a visit to Asia-Pacific as the secretary’s first stops, the source said. The order of these two trips has not yet been determined.
Those initial plans may change, the sources warned, mainly because the Biden government monitors the coronavirus pandemic.
When Blinken visits the Asia Pacific, he is likely to travel alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with his Japanese, South Korean and Australian colleagues, the sources said.
Blinken was vaccinated, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday. He also said that Blinken has not yet traveled because “there is a general provision” across the executive branch “against travel for all purposes that are considered essential or demanding”.
Price said Blinken’s trip would not happen anytime soon.
The pandemic has restricted the Biden government’s goal of engaging again with the allies. While calls to colleagues around the world are frequent, no one in President Joe Biden’s office has traveled abroad.
In the coming weeks, before Blinken starts traveling abroad, State Department officials are planning a series of virtual trips for the secretary, the sources said.
Blinken’s virtual stops are expected to include Europe, Canada and Mexico, as well as several African countries. Top Blinken consultants are striving to be creative in their planning. For example, in addition to finding colleagues, Blinken should get involved in cultural and NGO events on these virtual tours. It can also receive guests, such as members of Congress or cultural icons.
Virtual tours must be logistically complicated, as they are a new model of engagement, a source explained.