A. U.S Defense Department delegation led by Brian E. Sheridan, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, will arrive in Santiago, Chile, today to participate in the fourth meeting of the Defense Consultative Commission scheduled April 12-17.
Sheridan stated that the members of the U.S. delegation are looking forward to meeting with their Chilean counterparts to work on "an active, cooperative agenda on a series of issues of mutual importance to our two countries."
The commission will address enhanced cooperation on the development of civilian defense human resources; multilateral, joint and combined training; participation in multilateral peace operations; and development of defense policy through the Defense White Paper process.
Sheridan will be accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Inter-American Affairs Pedro Pablo Permuy and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Joseph Westphal.
The U.S.-Chile Defense Consultative Commission was established under agreements reached in 1996 by former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and Chilean Minister of Defense Perez Yoma to participate in a series of annual high-level meetings to foster greater understanding and cooperation between the two nations' defense organizations. The relationship grew out of the high-level Bilateral Political Consultative Mechanism established in 1994.
