Thirteen-year-old Florida native Matthew Hill visited the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), Dec. 10, 2021, following a four-month adventure that saw him exchanging letters with the chargé d’affaires in Algiers and tweets with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra before becoming a social media sensation in the North African country. Hill, who is on the autism spectrum, has a passion for foreign policy and U.S. diplomacy, and dreams of being a Foreign Service officer. During his visit, he met with NEA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Joey Hood and gave a press conference from the Department of State’s briefing room about his trip to Washington with several pan-Arab media outlets. Later, Hill shared his career ambitions with Algerian Ambassador Ahmed Boutache and saw his visit covered on media outlets Alhurra and Al Arabiya.
Photo courtesy of NEA
