Michelle Obama’s 24 minute speech in Qatar cost $700,000

She also traveled to Jordan during the five-day trip. Those costs have not appeared on the government spending website yet.

First Lady Michelle Obama hugs a student during a tour of the WISE Summit Learning Labs during the 2015 World Innovation Summit for Education at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 4, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

Obama started in Qatar where she addressed an international education conference where she promoted her “Let Girls Learn” initiative. She said, “We cannot address our girls’ education crisis until we address the cultural norms and practices that devalue women’s intelligence, that silence their voices, that limit their ambitions.”

In the speech, she spoke for 24 minutes. She also gave three other remarks, two to U.S. troops on the trip.

In Jordan, she spoke at a U.S.-constructed school educating 400 refugees from Syria.

According to some of the federal contracts posted on the website usaspending.gov, the on-the-ground costs in Qatar have reached $450,062. That includes $134,249 for “FLOTUS Visit Rooms and Suites.”

It also included $215,027 for U.S. Secret Service rooms. Other costs included a $3,710 ballroom rental for the first lady to “meet and greet” with embassy staff and $4,257 for a copy machine.

The jet bill hasn’t arrived yet. Typically the taxpayer watchdog group Judicial Watch Inc. requests that under the Freedom of Information Act. Based on past charges, the bill should come in at over $300,000.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].