Secretary of state nominee Sen. John Kerry would continue administration's focus on global health, food security, Devex reports

"President Barack Obama's 'perfect choice' for state secretary" -- Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) -- "is not only expected to advance the administration's agenda on global health and food security, but he might also lend new heft to efforts to rein in climate change, one of Kerry's long-time priorities, with a team of advisers that is expected to include several with a background in international development," Devex reports. "As secretary of state, Kerry can be expected to continue the administration's reform agenda and reliance on what it calls 'smart power,' a mix of diplomacy and development cooperation focused on health, food security and governance through capacity building and engaging with local civil society and the private sector," Devex continues, adding, "The Massachusetts senator and former presidential candidate laid out his support of a robust U.S. aid budget and what he calls 'economic statecraft' in a February 2012 Wall Street Journal op-ed ..., in which he wrote that 'energetic global leadership is a strategic imperative for America, not a favor we do for other countries'" (Rosenkranz, 1/2).