DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Mark R. Koumans to Visit Taiwan from December 2-6, 2012

PR-1263E | Date: 11/30/2012

United States Department of Homeland Security Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Mark Koumans will visit Taiwan from December 2-6, 2012. Mr. Koumans will participate in the 2012 International Conference on Homeland Security, delivering a speech on December 5. He will also hold a series of high-level meetings with the Taiwan authorities to discuss security issues of importance to both sides.

DAS Koumans is responsible for coordinating the Department of Homeland Security’s international programs and policy to achieve the Secretary’s international strategic objectives, including by promoting greater international information and education exchange in order to share data, technologies, and best practices relating to homeland security. Mr. Koumans, and the Office of International Affairs he leads, also provide DHS leadership with strategies, foreign policy guidance, and information about the impact of DHS programs on the international affairs of the United States. DAS Koumans collaborates with DHS component agencies and with other U.S. federal agencies to manage and promote the Department’s international relationships. Mr. Koumans also reviews draft DHS international agreements and guides and directs DHS Attachés overseas.

Prior to joining DHS in June 2007, Koumans served for 17 years in the United States Foreign Service and concentrated on counter-terrorism and security issues beginning in 2002. Mr. Koumans received his bachelor’s degree from Brown University and received other training throughout his Foreign Service career, including a nine-month intensive course in economics.