He said the US believes that when nations respect the rights of their neighbours and defend the interests of their people, they can better work together to secure the blessings of safety, prosperity and peace.
As 2018 draws to a close and the white noise of 24-hour news cycles and Twitter storms fade into the background, it is already clear that history will remember only a handful of those people, each of whom has taught us something about ourselves and the rapidly changing world in which we live.
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series, rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
North Korean pair given warm welcome on Pyeongchang debut
India's campaign in the Asian Games gymnastics ended, on Friday, without a medal after Dipa Karmakar finished fifth in the women's balance beam event final in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, the test drew strong criticism from North Korea's neighbours and the West which warned of a robust response to its "grave provocations".
'It will be a ghastly mistake for the CPI-M to face the 2019 poll on its own.' 'At best, it can hope to split non-BJP votes in some pockets, but the humiliating rout will spell its doom,' warns M K Bhadrakumar.
'A good opportunity has thus been provided for both countries to back away from the brink without loss of dignity.' 'There is every reason why they should strain every nerve, and grab every chance, shedding all thought of belligerence and showing who's the boss, to establish, maintain and preserve all it takes to lift themselves by their bootstraps,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Apple products are built around the notion of picking up ideas that are already common, reducing them to brightly-coloured, child-like simplicity, imposing conformity, and then suggesting that buying into that conformity means you're a seriously cool adult, says Mihir S Sharma.
Modi will hold several bilateral meetings with the leaders of the SCO member countries including China's Xi Jinping.
The Chinese President dethroned Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most influential person on the planet.
A national cyber crime and coordination centre meant to fend off such attacks is still awaiting approval
'The domination of American foreign policy by the military poses some hidden dangers for us.' 'We must factor in that the Pakistani military and the US military have close ties going back three generations.' 'Pakistan will find sympathetic ears in the Pentagon against India as the bogey man.' 'This will be further milked to the maximum by raising the ante in Kashmir through its proxies,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
US President Barack Obama imposed fresh financial sanctions on North Korea and its senior officials in America's first public retaliation against the "provocative" cyber-attack on Sony Pictures.
Moon Jae-in's visit will play a crucial role in exploring complementarities between India's Act East policy and South Korea's New Southern policy, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
Donald Trump on Wednesday started his maiden visit to Beijing with both sides inking deals worth $9 billion.
The IOC said in a statement that the North and South have agreed to march under a single flag at the opening ceremony and would field a united team in the women's ice hockey.
Unveiling his second year agenda to a deeply divided Congress and nation, a bullish United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday used his first State of the Union address to appeal for bipartisanship on issues like immigration while pledging to tackle the Islamic State and a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Former World No. 1 Heena Sidhu sizzled on the final day as she clinched the gold medal in the women's 10m air pistol to cap off India's campaign at the 8th Asian Air Gun Championship on a winning note in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Sanctions against North Korea following its H-bomb test could have serious repercussions and may prove disastrous for all the players involved, says Debalina Ghoshal.
Three-time champions Pakistan became the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the Asia Cup hockey tournament after defeating Malaysia 4-1 in their second Pool A match in Ipoh, Malaysia on Sunday.
'Make no mistake, depriving water deliberately to a nation of 190 million people is a repugnant idea.' 'The world community won't forgive us.'
The US president has slammed the op-ed titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration', calling it 'gutless'.
Two South Korean speed skaters are facing growing calls for them to be banned from the national team after they appeared to blame a team mate for their failure to reach the semi-finals of the women's team pursuit at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
To imagine that no one contributed to global peace to deserve the prize in 2017 is to be extremely cynical about peacemakers around the globe.
It's all bad. All of it, every last instant, every single word, rants Raja Sen in his review of Humshakals.
South Korea's Rim Chang-woo lashed home the winner in the last minute of extra time to give the Asian Games hosts a 1-0 win over fierce rivals North Korea in the final of the men's soccer tournament on Thursday.
European Champions Spain produced a dominant display to thrash South Korea 6-1 in Salzburg, Austria on Wednesday in their penultimate friendly before Euro 2016.
Satnam Singh may have endured a tough time with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, but he isn't ready to give up just yet.
All the gold medallists from Saturday's action at the Tokyo Olympics.
Indian grapplers finished their campaign at the Asian Wrestling Championship in Bangkok, Thailand with nine medals, including a gold, in the five-day event.
PIO finds similarities between WannaCry code and other tools created by Lazarus Group in the past.
Another sobering number is that the total Chinese investment in India in the past 10 years amounts to $400 million.
Tillerson said he hoped that at some point the North Koreans will begin to understand that the US would like to sit and have a dialogue with them.
The 17th Asian Games came to a close on Saturday, bringing an end to two weeks of intense competition, drama and controversy that shone a light on the best and worst of a region that will host the world's biggest events for the next decade.
Bajrang Punia lost his semi-final bout against home wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov under controversial circumstances after he secured his place in the Tokyo Olympics along with debutant Ravi Dahiya at the World Wrestling Championships.
Going into the title clash, World no. 5 India were clear favourites to lift their sixth Azlan Shah title against the 17th ranked Koreans.
Vinesh Phogat created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, brushing aside her rivals with remarkable ease in the 50kg category.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal led India to the quarter-finals of Uber Cup with a crushing 4-1 victory over Hong Kong but it was curtains for their male counterparts in the Thomas Cup after they lost to Korea 2-3 in New Delhi.
