this year marks as you sat, the historic 17 anniversary of the r o k u s alliance. and i'm delighted to kick off eo, long commemorations with my good friend, secretary of lincoln. the r o k u. s. alliance is one of the most durable and successful alliances in history. and it is special not only due to his longevity but because it is a vibrant, adapt hip partnership that consistently rises to the challenges of our times and president noon. and president biden met his whole in may last year and declared that we would develop an upgraded global comprehensive strategic alliance. and we will expand the scope of the alliance to income past not only political, military, economic partnership, but also technological and cultural dimensions. alliance for the future, the seventy's and diversity slogan aptly encapsulates this afford looking spirit, and an elias in action to day secretary blinkin. and i had a productive and comprehensive discussion on a wide range of topics. first and foremost, we discussed ways to build on the agreements reached by our 2 leaders last here to lay