Watch the communicators tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan2. On next washington journal, we talk to northbound congresswoman Virginia Foxx about the republican agenda and the 2016 campaign. Then florida congresswoman kathy castor joins us to discuss cuba, including the obamaed aminute straig administrations decision to restore ties with cuba. Washington journal live each morning at 7 00 eastern. President obama was at the state department earlier today to speak to the global chief of missions conference. He offered words of thanks and encouragement to officials and staff about their ongoing global operations. This is just under half an hour. [ applause ] thank you all very, very much. Just very quickly, i had the privilege to talk to you earlier this morning. And i laid out to you the vast panorama. Everybody here knows how deeply engaged we are. The reason is we have a president who believes in engagement. Im very proud to be secretary but im prouder to be secretary of state for be a ram oarak oba. I think he has displayed a huge commitment to the concept that diplomacy makes a difference, engagement makes a difference. He has restored our reputation. He has strengthened americas standing in the world. With iran, with climate change, with cuba, with the tpp and other efforts, he has broken remarkable ground. So please join me in welcoming the 44th president of the United States, our leader for whom we are very grateful for his leadership, barak obama. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Please, everybody, have a seat. Thank you. Thank you so much. Well, good morning, everybody. I was in the neighborhood. So i thought i would stop by. Actually, you are in the neighborhood. So i appreciate you stopping by. I see a lot of friends and familiar faces. I have visited a lot of the countries where you are serving. I want to thank you once again for putting up with me when i show up. Because its a lot of work. I know my visits are not easy. And your teams do extraordinary work in making sure that our visits are a success. And im deeply grateful for that. And when i depart, i am sure that you guys have big wheels up parties. Im confident about that. Im not here to give a big speech. I wanted to come by and mainly just say thank you. I want to reiterate what i say at every embassy that i visit, to your entire team, and that is that you are doing extraordinary work on behalf of america. And because of you we are safer and more secure and americas reputation around the world is extraordinarily strong. Now that starts with our secretary of state, john kerry. We all know that john is tireless. We dont know exactly what he takes. But 82 foreign trips so far, 80 countries and in one case five countries in two days, more than one million miles. After a long day of negotiations in foreign capitals, he has been known to explore the finer restaurants after midnight. One staffer who i think is more than half his age says its inhuman. But john is relentless because he knows, as i do, that theres no substitute for american leadership. There are those who criticize our commitment to diplomacy. For investing so much effort in trying to resolve conflicts that seem intractable. But here is the truth. Conflicts and wars do not end on their own. Breakthroughs do not just happen. Agreements dont write themselves. It takes diplomacy, being willing to sit down with others, sometimes withe adversaries, sometimes with people whose values are completely contradictory to our own. But as john always says, we have to try. This secretary of state from massachusetts follows on the heels of the original jfk from massachusetts who said, lets never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate. And we have seen the results. Thanks to john but also most importantly thanks to so many of you. The historic democratic transition in afghanistan, chemical weapons removed from syria. The iran nuclear deal. Detained americans coming home. The paris climate agreement. The cessation of hostilities in the syrian civil war. Thats strong principled diplomacy at work. So, john, on behalf of myself and the american people, we want to say thank you for your leadership. [ applause ] in addition to john, i see tony and gail and heather. We get to hang out all the time in the situation room. Sometimes we get to come out for fresh air. And sunlight. But i know that behind them theres an incredible team. All of you, our embassies and posts in every corner of the globe. For so many people around the world, both foreign governments and foreign publics, you are the voice and the face of the United States. So you dont just convey our interests. You represent our values. You represent our diversity. You and your teams represent the very best of america. And i say this before, some of you when havei have gone to vis you will hear me say this, when john and i arrive in a country, we make a big fuss. But ultimately what determines peoples impressions of the United States is you and your teams who are there in a sustained way. And day in day out are helping people, whether its a business trying to get a visa or it is a family trying to be reunited, you are solving problems. And that has a ripple affect all across the countries where you are serving. And i know its not always easy. Dedicated personnel have made, in some cases, the ultimate sacrifice because the world can be dangerous. Including chris stevens. Since then, we have lost others in afghanistan and other places. Our Embassy Guard in ankara. In pakistan, two locally employed staff