Shaheen co-leads delegation to international security forum
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Nov. 22—WASHINGTON — Following an international conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, last weekend, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said there's strong bipartisan support for U.S. foreign policy goals, which include keeping a watchful eye on aggressive moves from leaders in Russia and China, along with monitoring the aftermath of withdrawal from Afghanistan.
With Sen. Jim Risch, R-Ind., Shaheen co-led a delegation of six U.S. senators to the Halifax International Security Forum.
Shaheen is the only female senator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Risch, the ranking Republican on the same panel, credited Shaheen with organizing this trip.
"I think some participants in the forum were surprised the degree to which there is such bipartisan agreement among us about the threats we face, and the responsibilities we have to address them," Shaheen said during a telephone interview upon her return to Washington.
"The forum was virtual last year, so it was great to get back there in person and meet people, face to face."
Shaheen spoke about her opposition to President Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan during a seminar on the topic.
"I was very disappointed when I heard President Biden's decision and I said that at the time. I thought given what was really a surrender to the Taliban by the previous administration; it wasn't a negotiated peace treaty ... I thought he would extend our stay, continue to evaluate what was happening in Afghanistan," Shaheen said.
Shaheen said the U.S. has little leverage and for her the "biggest tragedy" was to see women losing some freedoms they had for the first time while the U.S. and other western nations were supporting the previous Afghan administration.
"We need for world leaders, for the president, the United Nations to continue to speak out about what is happening to women in Afghanistan; that is the least we can do," Shaheen said.
Other speakers on the panel included former Afghan member of Parliament Sabrina Saqeb, former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, and Dr. Janice Stein, a founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.
U.S.-Canada business also on agenda
Shaheen hosted a meeting on Saturday between the delegation and the Canadian-American Business Council ,which came on the heels of the U.S. reopening its borders to Canadian visitors.
"Everyone is really upbeat the border reopening is going to bring back a lot of commerce and tourism to both sides of the border," Shaheen said. "Canada is also approving a change in its testing requirements for citizens who come back into that country that I think is going to be very well received."
Shaheen said the event played host to many meetings with diplomats and other officials from Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine to discuss Russia's actions towards its Eastern European neighbors.
"There remains a great deal of concern about the instability in Belarus and we know (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is involved, if not directing it," Shaheen said.
The delegation included three Senate Republicans and three Democrats. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, was the only one who was at the forum for the first time.
