June 16-17, 2014 — In an important and significant visit for His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, his Foundation for the environment, and for the Principality, Monaco’s Sovereign traveled to Washington, D.C. this week as a special guest of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s “Our Ocean” initiative. Prince Albert was the key note speaker at a luncheon on Tuesday, June 16 at the State Department. Other notable attendees included President Tommy Remengesau of the Republic of Palau, Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz of Chile, Foreign Minister Borge Brende of Norway, Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, and President Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank. As well as participating in high-level discussions, Prince Albert held a bi-lateral meeting with, and attended a press briefing alongside Secretary Kerry (see more at: http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/06/227635.html) The “Our Ocean” conference (http://ourocean.info) convened world leaders, experts, practitioners, advocates, lawmakers, and the international ocean and foreign policy communities to gather lessons learned, share the best science, offer unique perspectives, and demonstrate effective actions. Topics and panelists included Exploring, Understanding & Conserving Our Ocean with Philippe Cousteau (EarthEcho International), Margaret Leinen (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), and Enric Sala (National Geographic).