Statement by President Obama, July 1, 2009Footnote 1
The United States is concerned about the recent actions of Niger's President Mamadou Tandja to rule by ordinance and decree and to dissolve the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court as part of a bid to retain power beyond his constitutionally-limited mandate. These decisions undermine Niger's efforts over the last ten years to advance good governance and the rule of law. We are encouraged that the African Union has sent a delegation to Niger to attempt to find resolution to this political crisis. We will continue to consult with our partners in the region and monitor the situation in Niger closely.
Excerpt of Remarks by President Obama, July 7, 2009Footnote 2
President Barack Obama was interviewed by AllAfrica.com in Washington, DC
Q. We asked visitors to our site, AllAfrica.com, what they might be interested in with respect to your policy. And as you might imagine, the responses are everywhere: conflict resolution, development issues, trade issues, et cetera. But they and we have one immediate question: How is it that you happened to pick Ghana as the first place to visit in sub-Saharan Africa?
President Obama. Well, part of the reason is because that Ghana has now undergone a couple of successful elections in which power was transferred peacefully, even a very close election. I think that the new President, President Mills, has shown himself committed to the rule of law, to the kinds of democratic commitments that ensure stability in a country. And I think that there is a direct correlation between governance and prosperity. Countries that are governed well, that are stable, where the leadership recognizes that they are accountable to the people and that institutions are stronger than any one person have a track record of producing results for the people. And we want to highlight that.
Q. And I assume that you'd like to see a lot more Ghanas in Africa. And part of your policy would be, I assume, to encourage that.
President Obama. Absolutely.
Q. How? Do you get—
President Obama. Well, part of it is lifting up successful models. And so, by traveling to Ghana, we hope to highlight the effective governance that they have in place.
I don't think that we can expect that every country is going to undergo these transitions in the same way at the same time. But we have seen progress in democracy and transparency and rule of law, in the protection of property rights, in anti-corruption efforts. We have seen progress over the last several years; in some cases, though, we're also seeing some backsliding. In my father's own country of Kenya, I'm concerned about how the political parties do not seem to be moving into a permanent reconciliation that would allow the country to move forward. And Kenya is not alone in some of the problems that we've seen of late, postelection or pre-election.
And we just want to make sure that people are mindful that this isn't just some abstract notion that we're trying to impose on Africa. There is a very practical, pragmatic consequence to political instability and corruption when it comes to whether people can feed their families, educate their children, and we think that Africa— the African continent is a place of extraordinary promise as well as challenges. We're not going to be able to fulfill those promises unless we see better governance.
Q. Do you have, with respect to that, priorities in terms of countries or regions? For instance, West Africa is extremely important in terms of oil, or East Africa in terms of some of the strategic concerns of the United States?
President Obama. I think the entire continent is important. And keep in mind that although I'm visiting Ghana on this particular trip, we've already had Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe in the Oval Office. We've had Kikwete from Tanzania in my office. And in each case, I'm trying to send the same message. You've seen some very good work by the administration in Tanzania focusing on how to deliver concrete services to the people, and wherever folks want to help themselves, we want to be there as a partner. And I think that you've got some very strong leadership in Africa that is ready to move forward and we want to be there with them.
On the economic front, that means opening up better trade opportunities. It means that we are interested not just in foreign aid, but in how we strengthen the capacity for development internally in these countries, and we want to work in a multilateral context, as well as the bilateral strengthening of relations with many of these countries.
But as you point out, there are both strategic, national security, economic, environmental reasons why we think this region is important. And part of the reason we wanted to—although we're only going to one country this time, I actually thought that it made sense for us to connect a trip to Ghana to a previous trip with the G8, and we'll be meeting a number of African countries in Italy during the G8 meeting— before that, a meeting in Russia—to show that Africa is directly connected to our entire foreign policy approach; that it's not some isolated thing where once every term you go visit Africa for a while to check that box, but rather it's an ongoing part of a broader discussion about how we move many of these international challenges forward.
Q. Development assistance will presumably be an important piece of your Africa policy. Now, development assistance is pretty fragmented whether you look at the United States or you look at it globally in the sense of varying countries have varying approaches. And now you, more than any President, are associated with using technological tools, and I can't help but wonder if you have in mind or have thought about using technology to bring some coherence, if you will, like tracking how aid works or goes and where it goes, et cetera.
President Obama. Look, I think you make a very important point and that is that even just within the U.S. government, our aid policies have been splintered among a variety of agencies, different theories embraced by different people depending on which administration, which party is in power at any given time. Trying to create something steady and focused on—and always basing our policies on what works and not on some ideological previous position is going to be very important.
And technology can play a very important role in streamlining our aid to countries, making sure that we're tracking how that aid is being applied, making sure that it's reaching the people it's intended to reach. One of the concerns that I have with our aid policy generally is that western consultants and administrative costs end up gobbling huge percentages of our aid overall. And it seems to me that what we should be doing is trying to minimize our footprint and maximize the degree to which we're training people to do for themselves. So I think using the Internet, using software, using modern technology, to improve delivery systems is important.
Now, I also think on the ground in many of these countries, how we think about not high-tech stuff but low-tech technologies to, for example, improve food production is vitally important. And I'm still frustrated over the fact that the green revolution that we introduced into India in the '60s, we haven't yet introduced into Africa in 2009. In some countries, you've got declining agricultural productivity. That makes absolutely no sense. And we don't need fancy computers to solve those problems; we need tried and true agricultural methods and technologies that are cheap and are efficient, but could have a huge impact in terms of people's day-to-day well-being.
Q. In addition, you mentioned just a few minutes ago also the importance of investment and not just aid. What's the balance between assistance and investment? You get—most businesses get a bigger return on their investment in Africa than any other part of the world. So should that receive more emphasis than it's been getting? What kind of balance in your mind exists in development assistance?
President Obama. Well, a couple of points I would make. Number one, you're not going to get investment without good governance. So that's part of the reason why we emphasize it. Again, this is a very practical, hard-headed approach to how we're going to see improvements in the daily lives of the peoples of Africa. If government officials are asking for 10, 15, 25 percent off the top, businesses don't want to invest there. That's point number one.
Point number two, I think that when my father left Kenya and traveled to the United States back in the early '60s, the GDP of Kenya and South Korea weren't equivalent—Kenya's was actually higher. What's happened over that 50-year period? What you've seen is Korea combine foreign investment, integration with the global economy, with a strategic sense of certain industries that they can promote for export; great emphasis on education for a skilled workforce; insisting that foreign investment is accompanied by technology transferring so that homegrown industries can be built and nurtured.
So we've got models out there. We know what it might take. What we haven't seen is, is a consistent, steady application of some of these models over time in Africa, and I think that now is the time to start.
Q. Is that a failure of U.S. policy or is that a failure of governance in Africa?
President Obama. I would say that the international community has not always been as strategic as it should have been, but ultimately I'm a big believer that Africans are responsible for Africa.
I think part of what's hampered advancement in Africa is that for many years we've made excuses about corruption or poor governance; that this was somehow the consequence of neo-colonialism, or the West has been oppressive, or racism—I'm not a big—I'm not a believer in excuses.
I'd say I'm probably as knowledgeable about African history as anybody who's occupied my office. And I can give you chapter and verse on why the colonial maps that were drawn helped to spur on conflict, and the terms of trade that were uneven emerging out of colonialism.
And yet the fact is we're in 2009. The West and the United States has not been responsible for what's happened to Zimbabwe's economy over the last 15 or 20 years. It hasn't been responsible for some of the disastrous policies that we've seen elsewhere in Africa. And I think that it's very important for African leadership to take responsibility and be held accountable.
And I think the people of Africa understand that. The problem is, is that they just haven't always had the opportunities to organize and voice their opinions in ways that create better results.
Remarks by President Obama, July 11, 2009Footnote 3
President Barack Obama delivered these remarks in Accra, Ghana
Introductory Remarks Omitted
President Obama. Good afternoon, everybody. It is a great honor for me to be in Accra and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. I am deeply grateful for the welcome that I've received, as are Michelle and Malia and Sasha Obama. Ghana's history is rich, the ties between our two countries are strong, and I am proud that this is my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States of America.
I want to thank Madam Speaker and all the members of the House of Representatives for hosting us today. I want to thank President Mills for his outstanding leadership. To the former Presidents—Jerry Rawlings, former President Kufuor—Vice President, Chief Justice—thanks to all of you for your extraordinary hospitality and the wonderful institutions that you've built here in Ghana.
I'm speaking to you at the end of a long trip. I began in Russia for a summit between two great powers. I traveled to Italy for a meeting of the world's leading economies. And I've come here to Ghana for a simple reason: The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra, as well.
This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America's prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the world's health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere.
So I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world—as partners with America on behalf of the future we want for all of our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility and mutual respect. And that is what I want to speak with you about today.
We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans.
I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's—my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.
Some you know my grandfather was a cook for the British in Kenya, and though he was a respected elder in his village, his employers called him “boy” for much of his life. He was on the periphery of Kenya's liberation struggles, but he was still imprisoned briefly during repressive times. In his life, colonialism wasn't simply the creation of unnatural borders or unfair terms of trade—it was something experienced personally, day after day, year after year.
My father grew up herding goats in a tiny village, an impossible distance away from the American universities where he would come to get an education. He came of age at a moment of extraordinary promise for Africa. The struggles of his own father's generation were giving birth to new nations, beginning right here in Ghana. Africans were educating and asserting themselves in new ways, and history was on the move.
But despite the progress that has been made—and there has been considerable progress in many parts of Africa—we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Countries like Kenya had a per capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born. They have badly been outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the African continent.
In many places, the hope of my father's generation gave way to cynicism, even despair. Now, it's easy to point fingers and to pin the blame of these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense helped to breed conflict. The West has often approached Africa as a patron or a source of resources rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many.
Now, we know that's also not the whole story. Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or a need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. And by the way, can I say that for that the minority deserves as much credit as the majority. And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy has shown impressive rates of growth.
This progress may lack the drama of 20th century liberation struggles, but make no mistake: It will ultimately be more significant. For just as it is important to emerge from the control of other nations, it is even more important to build one's own nation.
So I believe that this moment is just as promising for Ghana and for Africa as the moment when my father came of age and new nations were being born. This is a new moment of great promise. Only this time, we've learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa's future. Instead, it will be you—the men and women in Ghana's parliament—the people you represent. It will be the young people brimming with talent and energy and hope who can claim the future that so many in previous generations never realized.
Now, to realize that promise, we must first recognize the fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: Development depends on good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That's the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.
As for America and the West, our commitment must be measured by more than just the dollars we spend. I've pledged substantial increases in our foreign assistance, which is in Africa's interests and America's interests. But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of perpetual aid that helps people scrape by—it's whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.
This mutual responsibility must be the foundation of our partnership. And today, I'll focus on four areas that are critical to the future of Africa and the entire developing world: democracy, opportunity, health, and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
First, we must support strong and sustainable democratic governments.
As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions. But history offers a clear verdict: Governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they are more stable, and more successful than governments that do not.
This is about more than just holding elections. It's also about what happens between elections. Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves—or if police—if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top—or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end.
In the 21st century, capable, reliable, and transparent institutions are the key to success—strong parliaments; honest police forces; independent judges; an independent press; a vibrant private sector; a civil society. Those are the things that give life to democracy, because that is what matters in people's everyday lives.
Now, time and again, Ghanaians have chosen constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through. We see that in leaders who accept defeat graciously—the fact that President Mills' opponents were standing beside him last night to greet me when I came off the plane spoke volumes about Ghana; victors who resist calls to wield power against the opposition in unfair ways. We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth. We see it in police like Patience Quaye, who helped prosecute the first human trafficker in Ghana. We see it in the young people who are speaking up against patronage, and participating in the political process.
Across Africa, we've seen countless examples of people taking control of their destiny, and making change from the bottom up. We saw it in Kenya, where civil society and business came together to help stop post-election violence. We saw it in South Africa, where over three-quarters of the country voted in the recent election— the fourth since the end of Apartheid. We saw it in Zimbabwe, where the Election Support Network braved brutal repression to stand up for the principle that a person's vote is their sacred right.
Now, make no mistake: History is on the side of these brave Africans, not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
Now, America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. The essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. But what America will do is increase assistance for responsible individuals and responsible institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance—on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard—; on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting and automating services—strengthening hotlines, protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.
And we provide this support. I have directed my administration to give greater attention to corruption in our human rights reports. People everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education without paying a bribe. We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do.
Now, this leads directly to our second area of partnership: supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.
With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise of a broader base of prosperity. Witness the extraordinary success of Africans in my country, America. They're doing very well. So they've got the talent, they've got the entrepreneurial spirit. The question is, how do we make sure that they're succeeding here in their home countries? The continent is rich in natural resources. And from cell phone entrepreneurs to small farmers, Africans have shown the capacity and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must also be broken. Dependence on commodities—or a single export—has a tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, and leaves people too vulnerable to downturns.
So in Ghana, for instance, oil brings great opportunities, and you have been very responsible in preparing for new revenue. But as so many Ghanaians know, oil cannot simply become the new cocoa. From South Korea to Singapore, history shows that countries thrive when they invest in their people and in their infrastructure; when they promote multiple export industries, develop a skilled workforce, and create space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs.
As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants and administration, we want to put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves. That's why our $3.5 billion food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers—not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it's no longer needed. I want to see Ghanaians not only self-sufficient in food, I want to see you exporting food to other countries and earning money. You can do that.
Now, America can also do more to promote trade and investment. Wealthy nations must open our doors to goods and services from Africa in a meaningful way. That will be a commitment of my administration. And where there is good governance, we can broaden prosperity through public-private partnerships that invest in better roads and electricity; capacity-building that trains people to grow a business; financial services that reach not just the cities but also the poor and rural areas. This is also in our own interests—for if people are lifted out of poverty and wealth is created in Africa, guess what? New markets will open up for our own goods. So it's good for both.
One area that holds out both undeniable peril and extraordinary promise is energy. Africa gives off less greenhouse gas than any other part of the world, but it is the most threatened by climate change. A warming planet will spread disease, shrink water resources, and deplete crops, creating conditions that produce more famine and more conflict. All of us—particularly the developed world—have a responsibility to slow these trends—through mitigation, and by changing the way that we use energy. But we can also work with Africans to turn this crisis into opportunity.
Together, we can partner on behalf of our planet and prosperity, and help countries increase access to power while skipping—leapfrogging the dirtier phase of development. Think about it: Across Africa, there is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal energy and biofuels. From the Rift Valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coasts to South Africa's crops—Africa's boundless natural gifts can generate its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad.
These steps are about more than growth numbers on a balance sheet. They're about whether a young person with an education can get a job that supports a family; a farmer can transfer their goods to market; an entrepreneur with a good idea can start a business. It's about the dignity of work; it's about the opportunity that must exist for Africans in the 21st century.
Just as governance is vital to opportunity, it's also critical to the third area I want to talk about: strengthening public health.
In recent years, enormous progress has been made in parts of Africa. Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs they need. I just saw a wonderful clinic and hospital that is focused particularly on maternal health. But too many still die from diseases that shouldn't kill them. When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made.
Yet because of incentives—often provided by donor nations—many African doctors and nurses go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease. And this creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries.
So across Africa, we see examples of people tackling these problems. In Nigeria, an Interfaith effort of Christians and Muslims has set an example of cooperation to confront malaria. Here in Ghana and across Africa, we see innovative ideas for filling gaps in care—for instance, through E-Health initiatives that allow doctors in big cities to support those in small towns.
America will support these efforts through a comprehensive, global health strategy, because in the 21st century, we are called to act by our conscience but also by our common interest, because when a child dies of a preventable disease in Accra, that diminishes us everywhere. And when disease goes unchecked in any corner of the world, we know that it can spread across oceans and continents.
And that's why my administration has committed $63 billion to meet these challenges—$63 billion. Building on the strong efforts of President Bush, we will carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, and we will work to eradicate polio. We will fight—we will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation—we will invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children.
Now, as we partner on behalf of a healthier future, we must also stop the destruction that comes not from illness, but from human beings—and so the final area that I will address is conflict.
Let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at perpetual war. But if we are honest, for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck. Now, we all have many identities—of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st century. Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division. We are all God's children. We all share common aspirations—to live in peace and security; to access education and opportunity; to love our families and our communities and our faith. That is our common humanity.
That is why we must stand up to inhumanity in our midst. It is never justified— never justifiable to target innocents in the name of ideology. It is the death sentence of a society to force children to kill in wars. It is the ultimate mark of criminality and cowardice to condemn women to relentless and systemic rape. We must bear witness to the value of every child in Darfur and the dignity of every woman in the Congo. No faith or culture should condone the outrages against them. And all of us must strive for the peace and security necessary for progress.
Africans are standing up for this future. Here, too, in Ghana we are seeing you help point the way forward. Ghanaians should take pride in your contributions to peacekeeping from Congo to Liberia to Lebanon—and your efforts to resist the scourge of the drug trade. We welcome the steps that are being taken by organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, to keep the peace, and support those in need. And we encourage the vision of a strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective, transnational forces to bear when needed.
America has a responsibility to work with you as a partner to advance this vision, not just with words, but with support that strengthens African capacity. When there's a genocide in Darfur or terrorists in Somalia, these are not simply African problems—they are global security challenges, and they demand a global response.
And that's why we stand ready to partner through diplomacy and technical assistance and logistical support, and we will stand behind efforts to hold war criminals accountable. And let me be clear: Our Africa Command is focused not on establishing a foothold in the continent, but on confronting these common challenges to advance the security of America, Africa, and the world.
In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international system where the universal rights of human beings are respected, and violations of those rights are opposed. And that must include a commitment to support those who resolve conflicts peacefully, to sanction and stop those who don't, and to help those who have suffered. But ultimately, it will be vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of conflict and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.
As I said earlier, Africa's future is up to Africans. The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. And in my country, African Americans—including so many recent immigrants—have thrived in every sector of society. We've done so despite a difficult past, and we've drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos, Kigali, Kinshasa, Harare, and right here in Accra.
You know, 52 years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching the birth of a nation. And he said: “It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice.”
Now that triumph must be won once more, and it must be won by you. And I am particularly speaking to the young people all across Africa and right here in Ghana. In places like Ghana, young people make up over half of the population.
And here is what you must know: The world will be what you make of it. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, and end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can—because in this moment, history is on the move.
But these things can only be done if all of you take responsibility for your future. And it won't be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this: America will be with you every step of the way—as a partner, as a friend. Opportunity won't come from any other place, though. It must come from the decisions that all of you make, the things that you do, the hope that you hold in your heart.
Ghana, freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to build upon freedom's foundation. And if you do, we will look back years from now to places like Accra and say this was the time when the promise was realized; this was the moment when prosperity was forged, when pain was overcome, and a new era of progress began. This can be the time when we witness the triumph of justice once more. Yes we can. Thank you very much. God bless you. Thank you.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and Chadian Foreign Minister Faki, July 15, 2009Footnote 4
Secretary Hillary Clinton and Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat delivered these remarks in Washington, DC
Secretary Clinton. Good afternoon. Today, I am welcoming Foreign Minister Faki from Chad. I am delighted that he could be here. We have many issues to discuss. Obviously, the very difficult security situation that Chad is dealing with means that there's a great concern on the part of not only the region, but certainly the United States. So, Minister, thank you for coming.
Foreign Minister Faki. Thank you very much, Madame Secretary. Thank you for welcoming me here. This is a proof of the friendship between our two countries that shows that our relationship of cooperation is a strong one between our two countries. You said it yourself: Chad is now facing difficulties in the region with our neighboring country, Sudan, what happened in Darfur. Two of those are concerns that the whole international community has, and I will be glad to discuss these issues with you. So again, thank you very much for welcoming me.
Secretary Clinton. Thank you very much.
Remarks by USAID Acting Assistant Administrator Gast, July 30, 2009Footnote 5
Acting Assistant Administrator Earl Gast delivered these remarks in Washington, DC
Acting Assistant Administrator Gast. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to update you on the humanitarian situation in Darfur and our support for comprehensive peace and stability in Sudan. I am pleased to join my colleague, Special Envoy Scott Gration, on this panel and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent cooperation and coordination between USAID and the Special Envoy's office.
The U.S. Government has provided more than $6 billion in assistance to the people of Sudan since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. We have helped to stand up a new regional government tasked with rebuilding and governing the war-torn South. We have conducted wide-ranging civic education programs and immunized children. We have supported life-saving humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. We have worked to improve economic opportunities and public infrastructure. We have provided food aid, and we have supported Sudan's farmers and entrepreneurs.
We have saved lives, and we have improved living conditions for millions of Sudanese.
But with the continuing challenges Darfur and with less than 24 months left to follow the CPA's roadmap for consolidating peace, our most critical tasks lie ahead.
The situation for the 4.7 million people affected by the conflict in Darfur remains intolerable. While we have managed to fill many of the gaps left by the expulsion of 13 international NGOs in March, these measures are temporary and must be replaced by a more sustainable, long-term strategy that is finally accompanied by sustainable, long-term peace. Compounding the situation, carjackings, staff abductions and assaults, break-ins targeting NGO facilities, and ongoing military campaigns still impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Darfur and have resulted in both temporary and permanent suspensions of life-saving programs. Constant insecurity and violence continue to be the primary factors limiting the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Meanwhile, Sudanese expectations that they would benefit from the peace that came in 2005 remain high-and often unmet. The frustration of many Sudanese is summed up by what a Nuba man from Southern Kordofan, told a USAID partner not long ago: “The peace is now three years, and there are supposed to be tangible things. The government should have expressed its presence; but for us here, there is no government.” The time for achieving substantive improvements in governance is running out, as the national elections and the referenda on unity draw near. The critical window during which we can contribute to genuine transformation via the CPA roadmap will soon close.
As the Special Envoy has noted, the U.S. Government approach to Sudan's multiple challenges requires complex and creative solutions, implemented in cooperation with government officials, tribal leaders, and civil society representatives throughout Sudan. And it requires us to make a political commitment that matches the enormous financial and human commitment that we have dedicated to the Sudanese people over the years.
Explusions
Even before the Government of Sudan expelled 13 international aid organizations in March, there were significant assistance gaps across Darfur. The upsurge in fighting in South Darfur in early 2009, for example, displaced over 30,000 people, and in February, the UN World Food Program (WFP) was unable to reach over 500,000 people in need of food aid.
The NGO expulsion significantly increased the humanitarian challenges and drastically reduced USAID's ability to deliver assistance to people in need both in Darfur and in the Three Areas.
Darfur
In Darfur, the expulsions jeopardized food aid to more than a million people and health services to more than 650,000 Sudanese, according to a March 24 assessment conducted jointly by the United Nations and the Sudanese Government. More than half of USAID-funded humanitarian programs in Darfur closed, and 40 percent of the delivery capacity of our main food aid partner, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) was lost. In just one day, much of Darfur's humanitarian infrastructure, which took years to establish and thousands of people to staff, was wiped out.
From the moment the Sudanese Government announced the expulsions, we have worked with our partners to mitigate the impact. NGOs stocked health clinics and nutrition centers with months of supplies. WFP conducted a two-month food distribution through remaining NGOs and local food committees. To ensure that services continue, agencies have shifted existing operations, are providing supplemental assistance, and are relying on community members to provide food, safe drinking water, health care, and shelter to the most vulnerable people. Remaining NGOs have scaled up their services and expanded their areas of operation to address gaps in assistance, and Sudanese Government officials have staffed some health clinics.
We have, so far, averted a greater humanitarian crisis.
However, these measures are merely stopgaps. They rely on temporary staffing and strain already limited resources. They are not sustainable.
We must focus not simply on the quantitative aspects of filling assistance gaps, but the qualitative aspects that make programs effective and allow them to continue. This means ensuring that programs meet technical quality standards, that they are adequately managed and staffed, and that assistance meets international norms and standards for humanitarian action. Although immediate gaps have been addressed through the extraordinary efforts of the United Nations, NGOs still operating in Sudan, and parts of the government, the expulsion severely impacted the quality of programming and the ability to accurately monitor the distribution and impact of assistance. Despite our best efforts, many basic humanitarian needs remain unmet. Even before the expulsions, NGO access to affected populations in Darfur was limited and inconsistent. Simply restoring assistance to pre-expulsion levels would still leave many people in need.
In the immediate aftermath of the expulsions, the United States sent a clear message that the ultimate responsibility for the well-being of the Sudanese people solely rests on the shoulders of the Sudanese Government. In coordination with USAID, Special Envoy Gration successfully negotiated with the Sudanese Government to allow new NGOs to fill gaps in assistance, which is enabling USAID and its partners to begin the process of rebuilding humanitarian operations. Some new projects are already underway. These efforts will reintroduce lost capacity and program quality to Darfur.
However, bureaucratic obstacles and insecurity continue to hamper our efforts to rebuild the humanitarian infrastructure. The registration of new NGOs has been time-consuming, and many Sudanese Government commitments remain unmet or only partially implemented. For example, the Government of Sudan has yet to return USAID-funded assets that were confiscated from our partner NGOs when they were expelled.
Three Areas
There has also been a marked lack of progress in enhancing the NGO operating environment in the Three Areas, where the NGO expulsions significantly altered the humanitarian, recovery, and development landscape. The expulsion of leading USAID partners and subsequent seizure of their program assets and equipment severely undermined the operating environment and has threatened the stability of these war-torn areas. Due to the unique nature of the Three Areas' governance systems, humanitarian programs in the parts of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile controlled by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) went largely uninterrupted. However, many assistance programs in northern-controlled areas were halted. This dynamic has created an imbalanced distribution of assistance, which only reinforces conflict lines rather than fostering integration. Although two new organizations have recently started work in the Three Areas, the current lack of capacity and loss of confidence among remaining NGOs, coupled with the likely delays to re-establishing programs now that the rainy season has begun, will further exacerbate the risk for conflict. The Government of Sudan and the United Nations have yet to finalize joint communiques that will formalize operating procedures for programs in the Three Areas-and which are vital to safeguarding the conduct of programs in this critical region.
The U.S. Government has worked closely with the Government of Sudan, the United Nations, other donors, and humanitarian agencies to increase their access and capacity to address the gaps created by the expulsions. We must continue to coordinate and engage with these entities to ensure that humanitarian, recovery, and development programming proceed without impediment, and that aid agencies are able to operate freely.
Darfur IDP Returns
We have recently received reports that some of Darfur's displaced people have returned home. While we believe that some of these returns are seasonal in nature, we look forward to the day when the 2.7 million people who were driven from their homes by this conflict can return safely and securely to their villages. While not all of them will choose to return home, we are prepared to shift our assistance to support voluntary returns, and as elsewhere around the world, the international community will look to ensure that those returns are certified as voluntary by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees or the International Organization for Migration. We call upon the Government of Sudan to support the operations of these organizations in Darfur so that they can undertake this vital task. USAID will not deviate from its responsibility to safeguard the rights and protection of displaced people.
CPA Implementation
At the same time, we must leverage our coordination and engagement to prepare for the upcoming historic milestones of holding national elections and referenda on self-determination for Abyei and Southern Sudan, which could result in the creation of a new independent country.
The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) did not exist before 2005. Every government structure and system has had to be crafted from scratch. The committed men and women who serve in the government are not career politicians, nor have they benefited from the lessons of a life lived in a democratic, transparent state. That's why building the capacity of the GOSS is a cornerstone of USAID's strategy in Sudan, and central to the successful implementation of the CPA.
Initially, the GOSS had no offices, no pens, no paper, and no staff to undertake the most basic tasks needed for a government to function. But with our assistance, the key GOSS ministries have established systems for hiring people, for formulating budgets, and for establishing office systems. This has required tremendous dedication on the part of GOSS officials, who have been willing to roll up their sleeves and persevere through each one of these processes.
Considerable progress has been made in establishing functioning institutions where there previously were none. Ministries are functional, revenue is coming in, payments are being made, and a legal framework is being built. But development gains have been slow, and a recent fiscal crisis has highlighted that many fundamentals of good governance need to be improved. International NGOs are still the primary providers of basic services. Few roads have been paved and other infrastructure remains equally underdeveloped. Government at every level still needs to forge stronger, more consistent linkages between policy priorities and development, legislation, and budget capacity. High expectations for tangible benefits of peace remain unmet, especially in communities most affected by the war, where tensions and instability continue to threaten progress. Episodes of clan violence, as well as violence committed by the Lord's Resistance Army along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, have increased, taking scores of lives in recent weeks alone.
To bolster investments in strengthening the Government of Southern Sudan, USAID has launched a program that enhances the ability of local governments to provide peace dividends, defuse conflict, and promote stabilization in the Three Areas and key Southern states. USAID also played a key role in a joint donor-GOSS compact to strengthen the government's fiscal responsibility and financial management, representing a renewed commitment and redoubled cooperation to deliver the peace dividends promised by the CPA. We all are seeking to help support the establishment of a just, accountable, democratic government able to deliver basic services, whether the people of Southern Sudan and Abyei choose unity with the North or independence in the 2011 referendum.
And we cannot speak of the CPA without noting the precarious footing of elections. Elections were designed to be a central component of the broader strategy to transform Sudan democratically under the CPA, and our support to the national election process remains firm. But the hurdles are daunting.
As you likely know, the date for elections has been pushed back several times from the CPA-mandate of July 2009. While the postponements were intended to allow for adequate preparation, ongoing delays pose increasing risks. Just nine months remain until the designated polling date, yet there is no public budget for the elections. The electoral law-which establishes an electoral system that would be highly complicated, even in countries with a long democratic tradition-was passed more than two years after the deadline specified in the CPA. The National Election Commission (NEC) still hasn't fully established its 26 subsidiary commissions throughout the country, nor has it received its full operating budget. In addition, the failure to resolve technical questions related to northern census data spurred key Southern political leaders to reject the census results, making the use of those results to delimit electoral constituencies highly sensitive. Finally, the logistical and political challenges of implementing credible elections in Darfur cannot be understated. Massive civic and voter education will be required to engage Darfur's displaced people and the vast populations in the South that have low levels of literacy and little or no experience with past elections.
So, given the current status of election preparations, are our expectations too high? Do we believe it is too late to have credible elections in Sudan? No. It is too early to predict whether or not these elections will be credible, when so many administrative decisions are outstanding. Until key decisions are made, the ability of our central election administration program to move forward as intended will be severely limited. However, our programs to increase civic participation and observe the entire electoral process will continue, in coordination with the National Election Commission. We are coordinating with the United Nations and other international partners to bolster a credible outcome to this daunting but historic election for Sudan.
Before concluding, on behalf of USAID, I want to express our appreciation to Senator Kaufman, a member of this Committee, who recently in a statement on the Senate floor, paid tribute to John Granville, one of 91 Agency employees who have lost their lives in the performance of their duties overseas.
In honor of John Granville and Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama, USAID is establishing the Granville-Rahama Staff Care Award, which will recognize USAID employees who make significant contributions to the morale and well-being of Agency staff. Our staff work in some of the most difficult, dangerous environments in the world, and the tragedy of John and Abdelrahman's deaths reminded us of how important it is to promote a caring work environment and to help our staff cope with stress in the workplace.
In addition, the John Granville Secondary School is currently under construction and due to open this fall in Sudan's Blue Nile State. John had a special attachment to Blue Nile, and the fact that a school is being built in his name with the support and cooperation of the U.S. Government, the Sudanese Government, and the Government of Southern Sudan is a fitting memorial to a man who dedicated his life to helping Sudan's people.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me the opportunity to speak on behalf of USAID. We certainly appreciate your continued dedication to the Sudanese people and your commitment to peace and stability throughout the continent.
I welcome any questions you might have for me at this time.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 5, 2009Footnote 6
Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered these remarks in Nairobi, Kenya
Secretary Clinton. Thank you so much, Secretary Carson.
Well, I'm very happy to be here for this occasion. I think the remarks that have already been put forth, particularly by the minister, illustrate the commitment that Mauritius has had over a number of years, going back to the 1980s, to the ingredients that build a good business climate and attract investments. And we are here to embark on the next step in that relationship.
I'm very grateful to be here with Assistant Secretary Carson and Ambassador Kirk to announce the start of formal negotiations toward a bilateral investment treaty between Mauritius and the United States, often known as a BIT. First time I heard that, I thought it had something to do with horses—but it has to do with increasing business and investment opportunities.
When President Obama addressed the Ghanaian parliament, he said that the United States can do more to promote trade and investment in Africa. Negotiations like this one are a very important step in that direction. We seek to invest for the benefit of African nations as well as for our own. A better investment climate helps create jobs, sparks new industries, and drives broad-based, inclusive growth. Especially during this global economic crisis, as countries on every continent strive to recover, we know that there are certain steps that can be taken even during a recession that will better position a country for the future: diversification, which we spoke about at the opening session of AGOA; seeking and earning foreign investment, is a critical source of capital; looking for the partnerships that will create new opportunities for technology to blossom, for entrepreneurs and their ideas find markets.
Mauritius has taken steps in recent years to attract investment by enacting reforms that protect investors and promote business. They've made it easier to launch start-ups, to access credit, and to register property. They've demonstrated a commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance. Now, the people of Mauritius have been the primary beneficiaries of these reforms; it does help to unlock human potential and to create conditions where people feel that their hard work will actually be rewarded. And so investment in Mauritius has already increased. And in fact, as I think Ambassador Kirk said, Mauritius has attracted more investment in the last three years than it did in the preceding twenty years.
President Obama and I share a belief that investment and trade should not be ends in themselves but tools to actually spread development and opportunity deep within societies. As I just said at the AGOA Forum, we seek to integrate our strategy for development with our trade and investment policies. It is something that we think makes good sense. It is not possible to separate them one from the other. Done right, negotiations like this will enhance the investment climate.
There are many ways that the Obama Administration intends to demonstrate its commitment to Africa, and we will do that in large ways and small. But this investment treaty is a real example that we would like others to look at and see what steps need to be taken to move along this path with us. We have with other partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Mozambique and Rwanda. And we hope to collaborate with other AGOA partners, such as Ghana, to deepen trade and investment ties—including work that could lead to bilateral investment treaties.
Now, Mauritius may be a small country, but it has the potential to make a big impact, both by contributing to Africa's overall prosperity and by showing the way, providing an example of how other nations can stimulate growth by setting clear and fair rules for the benefit of those who wish to do business in Mauritius.
I think that the Mauritian Government deserves a real vote of congratulations from us, because it wasn't easy getting here. This is not something that you wake up and say, well, I think we'll try to create the climate for bilateral investment treaties. And there were, I think, circumstances along the way that seemed somewhat daunting. But the perseverance and persistence that has been demonstrated by the Mauritian Government over the years has paid off. There are no easy or quick fixes. AGOA provides a framework that is not yet fully utilized and which we are urging every country that is a partner with us to be creative, to look for ways to enhance business and investment opportunities. And then to move on to the bilateral investment treaty prospect provide even more opportunities.
So I congratulate the Mauritian Government on this step today. I look forward to additional collaboration. But I also welcome and invite other countries as well. A long, hard journey starts with a first step. The AGOA countries have taken that step, but now we want to work with you, and Ambassador Kirk and Assistant Secretary Carson and I view our presence here today not as a stopover, but as an ongoing commitment. We are ready to work with countries and businesses to help you take greater advantage of AGOA, and we are ready to work with any country that wants to take the same path that Mauritius has taken to this day as well.
Thank you very much.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack, and Kenyan Agriculture Minister Ruto, August 5, 2009Footnote 7
Secretary Hillary Clinton, Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Minister William Ruto delivered these remarks in Nairobi, Kenya
Secretary Vilsack. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. Minister, thank you very much. I come from the state of Iowa, where they say that that's where the tall corn grows. Well, apparently, I'm where the tall maize grows. And it is a pleasure and an honor to be here.
Earlier this afternoon, I had a chance to meet with one of the ministers from Namibia. And he said something that I thought was quite profound. He said people don't eat democracy. But I would suggest that democracy's future is tied to people being able to eat. And there is reason to be concerned throughout the world, for the number of hungry in the world is increasing. In 2008, our world experienced a global food crisis that affected 1 billion people; 265 million of them live here in Africa.
The FAO and the USDA projected the number of hungry will increase 11 percent in the next year. As President Obama has said, we need transformational change. And if you combat food insecurity, we cannot rely on simply providing food. We must help Africa produce enough food to feed its people and create economic opportunities for this continent.
We need a comprehensive approach focused on sustainability. We must address not only increasing availability of food by helping people in countries produce it, but we must make food accessible to those who need it and teach people to utilize it properly. First and foremost, the plans to establish food security must be country-developed and country-led. To maximize their success, they must be coordinated with other multilateral efforts.
Our commitment must be long-term to have the lasting impact needed to succeed in the 21st century. Efforts must be grounded in good government and transparent practices. And we must recognize the critical role that women play in this effort. I'm so proud to be here with the recipients of the AWARD fellowship. They are making a difference in the region. And I and others at USDA look forward to working with them to enhance their success in the future.
And with agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for roughly 20 to 30 percent of GDP and employing 60 to 70 percent of the workforce, we must help this area increase its agricultural output. We can provide seed technologies, explain the appropriate use of fertilization, share techniques to manage land effectively, create a strong post-harvest infrastructure—so many things that could help farmers increase their income. I can't think of a better example of how we can partner with the people of Sub-Saharan Africa and Kenya than the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute, where we are today.
USDA is proud to have partnered with KARI to prevent and control animal and pest diseases and improve food security, and develop and apply products and emerging technologies. KARI represents our commitment to tackle the challenges of global food insecurity. But more importantly, it highlights the collaborative effort and approach we must take to establish food security and prosperity around the globe. Your work in stem rust, wheat stem rust and hybrid seeds are part of the prescription for a more food-secure world.
Secretary Clinton. As I was getting up in my hotel room, millions and millions of people, mostly women, rose before dawn to begin their daily work tending crops and caring for livestock. By now, they have walked for miles to collect water for irrigation and guide their herds on grazing land. For millions of Africans, farming is a lifeline, the only source of income and food. For the continent, as the minister reminded us, agriculture is the primary economic sector and an engine for future growth. And for the global community, agricultural development could help address one of the most urgent challenges we face: chronic hunger, which afflicts nearly a billion people worldwide, including one in three Africans, many of whom are children.
Here at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and at laboratories and greenhouses across the continent, African scientists are developing tools to boost productivity of Africa's farms—part of a broad strategy to strengthen the entire agricultural sector, to increase income, to support rural communities, and to drive economic growth.
The benefits of a strong system of agriculture to Africa are great. The benefits to the world are equally so. Most of the arable land left on the planet is in Africa, while in some of the world's most populous regions the land available for farming is shrinking rapidly. More and more, the world will look to Africa to be its breadbasket. And I hope that when the world looks to Africa to be its breadbasket, it is Africans and African farmers who will profit from becoming the world's breadbasket.
But agriculture in Africa has been held back for decades by wars that have forced farmers to flee their fields, by diseases that too often strike the young and the strong, by climate change which has caused droughts and floods that destroyed cropland, as the people of East Africa know too well.
Farmers in Africa have also faced the lack of investment from the private sector as well as governments and the global community, while technologies that have helped farmers in other parts of the world haven't yet been adapted to the extent necessary to Africa's needs. Together, these challenges have eroded the foundation of African agriculture. But that foundation is being rebuilt. The scientists here at KARI are taking the lead. I've just met with researchers who are cultivating hardier crops that can feed more people and thrive in harsher conditions, disease-resistant cassava plants, sweet potatoes enriched with Vitamin A to prevent blindness, maize that can flourish in times of drought.
The breakthroughs achieved in these labs and others throughout Africa can go a long way toward making sure that farmers who work from sunup to sundown can grow enough to support their families and so people aren't forced to pull their children from school or sell their livestock to survive a food shortage.
This is also time to innovate. And the innovation in other fields can help farmers. For example, telecommunications, micro-finance, even micro-insurance. In several countries, farmers are using cell phones to check on prices in nearby markets. In Uganda, they're receiving text messages on their cell phones about how to diagnose and treat local crop diseases. And just last month, the Grameen Foundation, Google, and the South African cell phone company MTN came together to launch a service that will provide farmers with local weather forecasts and farming tips, along with other useful information like health advice.
Innovations like these are a crucial piece of what must be a comprehensive approach to agriculture, one that connects the tools developed in labs like this to the fields where the farmers are every day, the markets where the crops are bought and sold, the financial institutions where farmers access credit to invest in new seeds, fertilizer, equipment, and the classrooms where they can learn to grow more food with less labor and less water.
President Obama and his entire Administration, as evidenced by both Tom Vilsack and I being here, are committed to help strengthen the entire agricultural chain here in Africa and around the world. We think that is a critical tool for promoting economic growth and integrating Africa into the regional economy. We are convinced that investing in agriculture is one of the most high-impact cost-effective strategies available for reducing poverty and saving and improving lives. That's why we have made this a signature element of our nation's foreign policy. Very often, people in developing countries think that if we can only get a factory, if we can only get that business, whereas what is closer to home can actually produce more income and create more opportunities.
But I think it's fair to say in Tom's work in Iowa with farmers and the work that I did as a senator from New York and living in Arkansas for all those years, oftentimes people think, well, if you're modern, you don't do agriculture anymore. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. If you don't do agriculture, you don't eat. And that's the most important goal of any society—to sustain itself and to sustain the next generation. Last month in Rome, the members of the G-8 and other countries committed $20 billion to end global hunger, but not simply through short-term food aid, but through longer-term investments. The United States has pledged $3.5 billion to this effort.
Now, we do not seek to impose a one-size-fits-all approach. We will partner with individual countries to help Kenya and others develop your own strategy for reform. We will work with partners outside government, including NGOs like AWARD, with foundations like the Gates Foundation, with Universities like Cornell, which has a long relationship with KARI here, to provide coordination, minimize duplication, and maximize results. The United States has been a proud supporter of KARI for more than 40 years. And we're so proud that Cornell has a longstanding partnership as well.
With Kenya's leadership in biotechnology and biosafety, we cannot only improve agriculture in Kenya, but Kenya can be leader for the rest of Africa. And so as we scale up our efforts, let us strive to support those who do the work. Women are the backbone of farming in Africa, just as they are in most of the world. They plant the seeds, they till the fields, they harvest the crops, they bring them to market, they prepare the meals for their families. So to succeed in this work, we must work with women. And so we need a good collaboration to make sure that women are equal partners with men farmers all the way through the process.
The AWARD program is a great example. It supports women scientists working to improve farming here in Africa and to fight hunger and poverty. And we need women represented in our laboratories as well as our fields. And I really congratulate the AWARD women for being pioneers in plant science.
When I was a senator from New York, I learned something that I was very surprised by, and that is that in New York, which people think of as Manhattan with tall buildings, or the Bronx or Brooklyn or Queens, New York state actually has agriculture as its number two industry. But many people living in New York City did not know there were farmers in other parts of New York. And I realized that if you could enhance the income of the farmers in what we call upstate New York, it would benefit everyone. So I've worked with farmers and farming and improving income and helping with crop selection and providing inputs like better fertilizers and better farming techniques and more value-added processing.
And even in New York, when I started about eight years ago, a lot of farmers weren't getting their products to market in an efficient way. So when we talk about farming, we're also talking about infrastructure, aren't we, Minister? We're talking about farm-to-market roads. We're talking about storage and warehouse facilities, refrigeration facilities. We're talking about local markets buying from local farmers. If Kenyan farmers were linked up with Kenyan buyers of food, everyone would benefit. Instead of importing food that you can grow right here in Kenya, grow it and then sell it to each other. That's a win-win strategy for farmers and for the Kenyan people as well.
So we are pledged to work with you. We're proud to stand with you in this partnership that we have been involved in for many years. We want to take it to the next level, and we want to see the results. We're going to measure results, we're going to be very clear about what we expect to see as we work together, because we don't have a minute to waste. Children are malnourished, people are going hungry, money is left on the table, crops are wilting and dying in the field. We know we can do much better here and throughout Africa.
So I look forward to working with my colleague and partner in this effort, Secretary Vilsack, and with all of you here as well. Thank you very much.
Secretary Vilsack. Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. I think they want to ask a few questions, Minister.
Minister Ruto. Thank you.
Q. Thank you very much. My questions are relevant not on agriculture, on something else. Number one, I would like to know for the Government of the United States of America, what specific actions are you likely to (inaudible) on Kenya in case the Government of President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, totally ignores The Hague or the local tribunal option in punishing masterminds of post-election violence? And number two, President Obama being of Kenyan descent, could he be having some specific developmental programs for Kenya? Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. Well, those questions are related and connected. As I said earlier this morning at the Convention Center, the United States Government has delivered a very clear message to the Government of Kenya. Our Ambassador, our Assistant Secretary of State for Africa have both spoken out about our belief that it is in Kenya's interest to pursue a path toward justice of those who acted in a violent manner and supported violence following the last election.
We also, of course, believe that this is an issue that is better handled by Kenyans themselves. And we urge the government, including the parliament, to act expeditiously to set up a means, whether it's in the existing system or a special system. And I don't think anyone will believe it's real unless there's actual court proceedings and prosecution. That doesn't mean people are guilty. They're innocent until proven so.
But certainly, trying to bring to justice some of those who acted violently and preventing them from believing that they can act with impunity is critical to Kenya, but it's important to the United States. And it is especially concerning to President Obama. He is very proud of his Kenyan ancestry. You hear him talk about it all the time. He talks about his father's life, he talks about his grandmother, he talks about his relatives who are here. I don't know if any of you came to his inauguration, but 10 percent of the crowd was from Kenya and probably 80 percent of them were related to him.
So he takes our relationship very seriously and very personally, and he wants to see the reform agenda go forward and he does not believe it can go forward unless people are brought to account. So there may well be some actions that he would consider directing, but clearly we wanted to deliver a message directly from the President, which I did. And we look forward to watching what Kenya does.
Q. Madame Secretary, Janine Zacharia from Bloomberg. Given that you're standing in a corn field and that you've said that agriculture is a signature element of your foreign policy, I was wondering if you could comment on what seems to be a consensus among food security experts that with U.S. corn and cotton subsidies as they are, they've distorted the global market so much for agriculture products that it's making it impossible for African farmers to compete; in other words, that it's not just an issue of infrastructure or disease? Do you think as part of your food security push and what you're doing here amidst the corn that it needs to be a reevaluation of some of those subsidies? And perhaps the Kenyan agriculture minister as well could comment? Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. Well, I'd also like Secretary Vilsack to comment. We are looking forward to a successful completion of the Doha round and looking at global subsidies. It's not just the United States, as you know. A number of other countries have significant subsidies for agricultural products. And we do want to take a hard look at that.
At the same time, I want to reiterate a point that I made this morning. If African countries traded with each other, they would increase their share of global trade and increase incomes in each of those countries. It is mind-boggling that Africa trades with itself less than any other region.
So, yes, are there problems from elsewhere in the world? Of course. But the biggest problem is the 700-million-person market is not being addressed by Africans themselves. So I think there are a number of approaches we need to take.
And let me ask Secretary Vilsack to comment.
Secretary Vilsack. I would just add a couple of comments. First of all, Secretary Clinton suggested that we are open and taking a look at completing the Doha round, which is absolutely true. I think the United States is prepared to talk about subsidies, which you can calculate with some degree of mathematical precision. What we're hoping to see as well through this negotiation is a continued opening of markets, of global markets for our products and for products around the world.
And secondly, I think it is appropriate to talk, as we have throughout the last several days, about a comprehensive approach to food security that does reflect on increasing the productivity of agriculture. As I speak to African agricultural leaders, they have expressed repeatedly and consistently concern about the capacity to increase productivity and the need for additional technology, the need for additional personnel and extension to their farmers, the need for appropriate fertilizer techniques, and the need to break down the barriers between their countries so that there can indeed, as Secretary Clinton suggested, be a free flow of trade within the continent.
All of that will increase the chances that children in this country and every country in Africa will be well fed. It will also increase significantly wealth-creation opportunities for this continent, which in turn will allow poverty to be alleviated. So it is a comprehensive approach that's required.
Minister Ruto. The issue of subsidies is a very long debate, long drawn. I do not think it's going to end on this platform. And it's been there for long, and on that debate rages and goes on there is a lot that we can do to the African farmer to help alleviate the position of the African farmer in relation to food security. I think, as has been said by people here, there are very many areas that we can intervene both as governments and as regional bodies. One I strongly believe that (inaudible) varieties. It is our first priority before even we go to the debate on subsidy and that debate (inaudible) to go on. New varieties—high-yielding, disease-resistant—that will help the African farmer increase productivity; support in terms of micro-credit, support in terms of access to market, to better developed infrastructure; support in terms of access to information through technology transfer or knowledge transfer—these are the issues that are critical at the moment to the African farmer and to enhancing and increasing productivity at the moment. These are issues that are of particular concern to us as a country, issues of making sure that our farmers have relevant, cost-effective fertilizer and peat, as the program we are having today in Kenya would inform you.
But instead of arguing with others on the subsidies they are giving to their farmers, we have to look for avenues of how we want to support our own farmers. So that we can argue the issue of subsidies in another place, another day, because we cannot keep complaining and we cannot keep pointing fingers. We have a job to do. We need to feed our people. And I want to agree that we need to break down the barriers that impede trade between African countries.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and Kenyan Foreign Minister Wetangula, August 5, 2009Footnote 8
Secretary Hillary Clinton and Minister Moses Wetangula delivered these remarks in Nairobi, Kenya
Foreign Minister Wetangula. Good afternoon, gentlemen and ladies from the media. Several issues were discussed, including but not limited to the bilateral relations between Kenya and America. The two sides agreed that we are satisfied with the level of engagement between our two countries, and we shall strive to make it even better.
The Secretary of State raised issues about our engagement in Somalia to make the Horn of Africa safer. We also discussed the issue of internal reforms within Kenya, the need to have a new constitution, which the president had mentioned in his speech, the reform of the police force and other security organs, the issue of dealing with the post-election violence arising from the elections of last year but one.
We also discussed the issues of travel bans or other travel advisories between America and Kenya, where they're renewed every other time. We raised the issue of piracy and the need for America to partner with other countries involved in the war against piracy to make the Indian Ocean shipping route safer.
Secretary Clinton. Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to be here with the foreign minister. I thank him for the work he has done in preparation for my meetings, and I'm very grateful for the hospitality that your country has shown me and my delegation.
The United States and Kenya share a long and deep history of friendship and cooperation. We consider Kenya a key strategic partner, a regional leader, and a nation of almost boundless potential. I have just come from a candid and wideranging conversation with the president, the prime minister, the vice president, and other ministers of the government where we discussed, in depth, the steps that are needed to realize that potential and to seize the opportunities that I discussed in my speech earlier.
The United States worked hard last year with Kofi Annan and the team of African Eminent Persons to support the Kenyan people to resolve the crisis that afflicted this country. Unfortunately, resolving that crisis has not yet translated into the kind of political progress that the Kenyan people deserve. Instead, the absence of strong and effective democratic institutions has permitted ongoing corruption, impunity, politically motivated violence, human rights abuses, and a lack of respect for the rule of law.
These conditions helped fuel the postelection violence, and they are continuing to hold Kenya back. The reform agenda agreed to by the coalition government and discussed in the speech that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga gave this morning must be fully implemented not just to avoid a repeat of the previous crisis or worse, but more importantly, to set the stage for a better future, a future worthy of the dynamic people of this country, a future of economic growth, democratic development, social justice, and the opportunity for every Kenyan child to live up to his or her God-given potential. I wanted the leaders to know that we respect greatly the way that the Kenyan people pulled their country back from the brink of disaster once, and the ongoing connection between the private sector, civil society, and the government that is the key to resolving these issues.
Q. Thank you. Madame Secretary, my name is Jeff Koinange. I work for a TV station called K24. This question is directed at you. As soon as you landed last night, there was a statement from the U.S. Government criticizing Kenya's latest move to appoint a TJRC, Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, in other words, opting to go their own way and not opting to go for a special local tribunal to try the perpetrators of the post-election violence.
Well, basically, the TRC has no powers to try anybody. What more pressure can your government keep applying to the Kenyan Government to make sure that those perpetrators are eventually arrested, detained, whatever, so that, as you mentioned, we don't limp towards 2012, knowing that those folks are still out there and nothing has been done? What more can be done?
And I have a follow-up.
Secretary Clinton. Do you want to ask your follow-up, and I'll answer both.
Q. Sure, okay. I'm sorry, yeah. The follow-up is a country right next door, Sudan, there's a warmonger who has been indicted by the ICC. Nobody seems to be doing anything about it in terms of putting pressure for him to either face justice or whatever. Is it because their country has natural resources like oil, or because they're dealing with the Chinese it's a very sensitive situation? In other words, is it sort of a double standard? A lot of pressure being applied on the Kenya Government, no pressure being applied on Sudan, and yet very little is being done both ways.
Secretary Clinton. Let me take your second question first, because I think that it is very significant that a criminal indictment was returned by the International Criminal Court against President Bashir. And that was a very significant step by the international community. The actions by the ICC sent a clear message that the behavior of Bashir and his government were outside the bounds of accepted standards and that there would no longer be impunity.
Now, just as in a criminal process, the indictment has been laid down. The United States and others have continued to support the need to eventually bring President Bashir to justice, but he's found a lot of protectors, and mostly in this continent, where people have allowed him to travel and have not used the forces of their own judicial and law enforcement institutions to arrest him, to turn him over the ICC.
We know this sometimes takes time. If you look at some of the international tribunals, there are periods of time during which the investigation takes place, if it does get started—in this case, it did—then if an indictment is returned, there is often time before the person indicted is brought to justice.
So I actually think that what has happened in Sudan sends a very strong message. And of course, one of the reasons why the United States and other friends of Kenya are encouraging Kenya to handle this internally is so that it is not sent to the ICC. The ICC won't act if a country is dealing with internal problems on its own.
And with respect to your first question, the ministers explained to me that there is a constitutional impediment to creating a local tribunal outside the ordinary judicial system, and that there is required to be a constitutional amendment in order to create a local tribunal, which has not passed the Kenyan parliament. I think that is regrettable because, obviously, the government has come up with this constitutional amendment, and there are reasons why it is preferable to the Truth and Justice and Reconciliation Commission because it would have the ability to actually prosecute perpetrators.
We have made our views known. As you referenced, a statement from our ambassador summarized those views. I know this is not easy. I understand how complicated this is. It's complicated, in part, because politically how do you go about prosecuting the perpetrators without engendering more violence from those who are supportive of the positions or the affiliations of the perpetrators. So it does take a lot of political will and leadership.
And we continue to believe that a special local tribunal is in the best interest of Kenya, so as to avoid having outsiders determine the outcome here. But as you know, Kofi Annan and the people working with him have handed a sealed envelope of ten names to the ICC, which has a lot on its plate. It's not acting immediately, of course, because I think there is still the hope that Kenya will resolve this matter on its own, and that is certainly the American hope as well.
Q. Thank you. This is a question for Secretary Clinton. What do you make of the fact that nobody accused in this violence has been punished in a year and a half—Kenya has a very long culture of never punishing any top officials—and that the very ministers who are suspected of instigating the violence are the ones that killed the possibility of the independent tribunal? How can you have any faith in them on this issue? Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. Well, I think we've made it very clear that we are waiting, we are disappointed that action hasn't taken place yet. Our Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, who served as an ambassador here and has a great deal of regard for Kenya, has spoken out. Our ambassador has spoken out. I mean, we've been very clear in our disappointment that action has not been taken. And of course, it is far preferable that it be done in the regular course of business that prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officials step up to their responsibilities and remove the question of impunity.
We in the United States sometimes go to having special tribunals, special prosecutors for certain politically connected wrongdoing, and so we know that trying to create another entity may be appropriate. But if it can't get created, then you've got to go back to the system you have. And a truth and justice and reconciliation commission without any ability to bring people to justice is not going to satisfy many of the deepest concerns that are expressed by the Kenyan people.
And I'm not understating, or I don't mean to underestimate, the difficulty of doing this, of creating some kind of pathway for holding people accountable. But in today's world, where information is communicated instantaneously, people are no longer going to put up with that. You can find information out so easily by people Twittering and otherwise communicating that governments have to be more transparent and governments have to be more accountable. And I used that phrase that I very much like in my speech that sunlight is the best disinfectant; bring it out and try to resolve it. Now does that mean everybody has to be prosecuted right away? Well, there probably has to be some process put in place, but there needs to be a beginning. And I think that's what we are looking for, and that's what we're hoping to see from the current government.
Foreign Minister Wetangula. Thank you. Finally, let me say something about the issue Jeff Koinage raised on the Sudan. First of all, I don't think it is true that America is harsher to Kenya than it is to Sudan. But on the issue of the indictment of President Bashir, the African Union took a position, and the position is very clear and we have articulated it many times. One, the AU does not and has not and will not say that President Bashir is innocent, because we have no capacity to say that. He has been investigated, he has been indicted.
What the AU asked the Security Council to do was that within the context of Article 16 of the Statute of Rome, the Security Council could suspend the warrant for a year because there was visible progress in Sudan, that there was internal discussions, there were talks going on in Qatar, and we wanted to see whether that texture can bring relative calm and peace in the country, because we do know that peace, security, stability and all these factors must be looked at within the same context. And nobody will stand in the way of President Bashir being arrested and prosecuted, but for now, the AU's position is that let's see what internal mechanisms can be done. I don't think the AU is asking for too much.
Thank you.
Q. (Inaudible.)
Secretary Clinton. Somalia? Well, we had a very long discussion about Somalia.
Foreign Minister Wetangula. Yes, it took the centerpiece of the discussions.
Secretary Clinton. Yes. And we very much appreciate Kenya's efforts working on its own and with the international community. We recognize the border problems that Kenya has with its long border with Somalia. We certainly offered whatever help and assistance we could provide to Kenya to deal with the border, the refugee flow, which Kenya is trying to absorb 6,000 refugees and—
Foreign Minister Wetangula. Te n thousand a month.
Secretary Clinton. Ten thousand a month. So Kenya's bearing a big burden for the instability and violence within Somalia. The United States is supporting the Transitional Federal Government. I'll be meeting with Sheikh Sharif tomorrow to discuss what else the international community can do to try to support his efforts to stabilize Somalia, to create a functioning government. But we know we're facing a very difficult conflict, and we also know that the presence of al-Shabaab and terrorist elements within Somalia poses a threat. It poses a threat to Kenya, poses a threat to the stability of Africa and beyond. So this is an area where we're going to work even more closely together.
And on another area, piracy, I would just say that Kenya, again, is absorbing a lot of the burden from the international community. Kenya offered to receive the pirates, to hold the pirates. They need more help in doing that. The United States is leading an international contact group on piracy. We want to provide more assistance to Kenya, which is offering this very important service.
So we talked a lot about the work that Kenya is doing within the regional and global security context, which is absolutely invaluable.
Foreign Minister Wetangula. Thank you very much, Secretary of State, and have a good afternoon.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 6, 2009Footnote 9
Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered these remarks in Nairobi, Kenya
Secretary Clinton. President Sheikh Sharif and I have just concluded a very thorough and productive discussion— thank you—about the challenges facing his country and the efforts of the international community to support the Transitional Federal Government as it stands up for the people of Somalia and against the threat of violent extremism.
The United States pledges our continued support for President Sheikh Sharif's government. And we have joined IGAD-the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the African Union, in endorsing the Somali-led Djibouti peace process.
Can we turn the lights on? Is that all right? We keep turning them off. Thank you, that helps. Thank you.
I want to reiterate our support for that process today. I conveyed to President Sheikh Sharif very strong support that President Obama and I have both for the peace process and for his government. We believe that his government is the best hope we've had in quite some time for a return to stability and the possibility of progress in Somalia. A strengthened Transitional Federal Government would have positive consequences not just for Somalia, but for the region and the wider global community. It would contribute to greater regional stability and start to alleviate the growing refugee crisis afflicting Somalia's neighbors, especially Kenya, which is hosting nearly 300,000 Somali refugees today.
President Sheikh Sharif's government has taken up the fight on behalf of the Somali people against al-Shabaab, a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida and other foreign militant networks. Al-Shabaab and its allies lack regard for human rights, for women's rights, for education, and healthcare, and the progress of the Somali people. They see Somalia as a future haven for global terrorism. Just this week in Australia, we have been reminded that there are those who would use Somalia as a training ground for attacks around the world.
No one knows better than the president the challenges facing Somalia and his people. Millions of Somalis—roughly 40 percent of the population—are in need of humanitarian aid as they confront persistent conflict, prolonged drought, and periodic disease outbreaks. And the TFG's institutions, including the security sector, need not only reform but significant financial support, so that the government can make real progress in delivering services for the Somali people. The United States and the international community must serve as an active partner in helping the TFG and the people of Somalia confront and ultimately move beyond the conflict and poverty that have gripped their country.
The African Union Mission in Somalia is playing an instrumental role in providing security and creating the space for TFG to operate in, and we're grateful for the bravery and commitment of the AMISOM troops from Uganda and Burundi. The United States is proud to offer financial support—nearly $150 million over the past two years, and additional funds in the coming months. We will also continue to provide equipment and training to the TFG as well as humanitarian assistance to the Somali people where delivery is feasible and effective.
We are asking other states in the region, particularly Arab states, to back the Djibouti process and the African Union, and to follow through on pledges of financial support. In addition, it is long past time for Eritrea to cease and desist its support for al-Shabaab and to start being a productive, rather than a destabilizing, neighbor.
I believe that the United States, Kenya, the entire region, and the global community have a stake in the success of President Sheikh Sharif's government. I particularly appreciated Sheikh Sharif's asking for help in returning children to school, in medical supplies to reopen hospitals, in giving the people of Somalia who have suffered so much the services that they deserve. I look forward to continuing consultations with the president and to supporting the people of Somalia through this difficult time. Thank you very much.
President Sheikh Sharif. (In Arabic.)
Q. (Inaudible) Shabaab to Americans? How big a threat a threat is the Shabaab to Americans here in Kenya, where there's this long and not-so-well guarded border with Somalia, and also in the United States?
And then on the Eritrea subject, there's been many warnings by American officials to Eritrea to cease and desist their support for the Shabaab. They have not changed their position. When is some action going to be taken?
Secretary Clinton. Well, let me answer the first question, and perhaps the president would want to add to that.
The United States takes very seriously the threat that al-Shabaab poses, first and foremost, to the people of Somalia, but also to people in the region such as here in Kenya. Our information is that al-Shabaab not only uses foreign fighters and foreign money, but foreign ideas in its attack on the people of Somalia. And there is also no doubt that al-Shabaab wants to obtain control over Somalia to use it as a base from which to influence and even infiltrate surrounding countries and launch attacks against countries far and near. And I think terrorists anywhere are threats to people everywhere. Certainly, if al-Shabaab were to obtain a haven in Somalia which could then attract al-Qaida and other terrorist actors, it would be a threat to the United States.
With respect to Eritrea, we are making it very clear that their actions are unacceptable. Their interference with the rights of the Somali people to determine their own future are the height of misplaced efforts and funding, and we intend to take action if they do not cease.
President Sheikh Sharif. I want to add a few points about Eritrea. We think that solving a problem with another problem is not right, and this is what Eritrea is doing. Because Eritrea is having problems with one of its neighbors, it is not right to solve this problem through Somalia. As you may know, in the African Union summit, all African leaders agreed that sanctions should be placed on Eritrea. That is because Eritrea is insisting on continuing its activities that are not helpful to the entire Horn of Africa. And the place that this (inaudible) is not at a point where we can keep quiet about it. We believe they still have an opportunity to correct this— their methods.
Moderator. Next question (inaudible).
Q. My question is to Ms. Clinton, the Secretary of State of United States. President Obama, he has mentioned in Ghana last month that the issue of Somalia is no longer African, it's global. So on your visit here to—and your meeting with President Sheikh Sharif has been now is the highest-ranking the United States had ever had with Somali leader. So are there any new plans or programs towards Somalia in the short term? Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. Well, as you know, we have been the principal financial backer of AMISOM and we will continue to do so. In addition to the military and security support that we are providing and working with others to provide to the TFG, we intend to respond to President Sheikh Sharif's request for assistance to serve the needs of the Somali people.
We also commended President Sheikh Sharif and his cabinet for hiring Price Waterhouse to analyze and monitor funding that goes into the TFG. We intend to ask other countries, as I said, particularly in the Arab world and in the Somali Contact Group, to fulfill the obligations that they have made to the TFG and the Somali people. The TFG needs help with food, with medical supplies, with unemployment—namely, jobs for people, with infrastructure like roads, with refugees and internally displaced people. And as they demonstrate their capacity to stabilize the country, we need to be there to help them deliver the results of stability to the people of Somalia who have suffered for so long.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 6, 2009Footnote 10
Secretary Hillary Clinton was interviewed by IQRA FM in Nairobi, Kenya
Q. All right, let's talk about Somalia (inaudible) issue between the Muslim world and the instability Somalia. (Inaudible) fighting (inaudible) Somalia have been the women and the children. So (inaudible) if you—the U.S. (inaudible) America (inaudible) invasion like you did in Iraq or Afghanistan, it's going to be (inaudible). So what strategies are you (inaudible) situation in Somalia?
Secretary Clinton. Well, we have absolutely no intention of doing any kind of military action on our own. And in fact, we have been pleased that the African Union and African countries have come to the aid of the Transitional Federal Government to try to stabilize Somalia and to drive out the violent extremists who, as you say, often target innocent people.
I mean, what kind of war is it when you kill women and children, and you destroy for the sake of destruction, to intimidate people and just break the spirits of people? And the Somali people have suffered for a very long time. The United States wants to help Somalis themselves take back their country, take it away from foreign fighters and foreign ideas that are unSomalia. This is not about Somalia anymore. It's about trying to gain control over a piece of territory so that you can create a terrorist haven. That's not the way Somalia (inaudible). This is something that I feel very strongly about. But we're going to support those who are trying to support a better future.
Q. And finally, (inaudible). So according to you, how (inaudible) common (inaudible) woman (inaudible)?
Secretary Clinton. In two ways. Kenya and most of the African countries have not yet fully utilized AGOA. There are 6,999 products that can be exported to the United States duty free, but what we have found is that a lot of people don't know that. And so we're going to do a better job of trying to reach out and explain that to people.
Now, the individual women in Kabaras selling vegetables will not be able directly to get into the AGOA forum, but if she is part of a larger group or if she is the farmer who is growing the vegetables who then can be part of a cooperative that would be able to get into America, that can happen. But it takes organization, and it takes planning. And we're going to try to do more to help businesses here in Kenya be able to get the tools they need to participate.
Q. Thank you so much for (inaudible).
Secretary Clinton. Thank you. It was a pleasure talking to you.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and South African International Relations Minister Nkoana-Mashabane, August 7, 2009Footnote 11
Secretary Hillary Clinton and Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane delivered these remarks in Pretoria, South Africa
Moderator. May I start with Sue Pleming from Reuters.
Q. Madame Secretary, (inaudible) what specifically would you like South Africa to do?
And Foreign Minister, what have you promised the Secretary in terms of Zimbabwe?
Secretary Clinton. Well, there is no need for promises. South Africa is very aware of the challenges posed by the political crisis in Zimbabwe, because South Africa has 3 million refugees from Zimbabwe. And every one of those refugees represents the failure of the Zimbabwe Government to care for its own people, and a burden that South Africa has to bear. So South Africa is deeply involved in working toward a complete fulfillment of the terms of the agreement that was reached to establish the coalition government. Obviously, South Africa, on the doorstep of Zimbabwe, has a lot of contacts with all of the different players in Zimbabwe. And the minister and I talked about ways we can try, productively, to create a better outcome for the people of Zimbabwe.
Now, we, as you know, are attempting to target the leadership of Zimbabwe with sanctions that we think might influence their behavior without hurting the people of Zimbabwe. And during the recent visit to the United States of Prime Minister Tsvangirai, we talked with the President, with President Obama, and he made a commitment to try to provide more help on education and health, the kinds of things that the people of Zimbabwe deserve.
So we are going to be closely consulting as to how best to deal with what is a very difficult situation for South Africa and for the United States, but mostly for the people of Zimbabwe.
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane. Well, what did we promise? We promised to continue to work with the people of Zimbabwe to implement the agreement that they signed that made in Zimbabwe for Zimbabwean agreements. We want them to first track their actual implementation of the agreements. And about a week ago, a few days ago, Prime Minister Tsvangirai came to South Africa, met with President Zuma in my presence, and confirmed that they are moving forward but that he would want us to encourage the government, and particularly the president, that they move a little bit faster, so that people in that country do not lose patience on their slow pace of the actual implementation of the agreement. And he said that I should say to our good friend here on arrival that when she lands in South Africa, BBC and CNN will be broadcasting from Harare. This is one of the movements forward in making sure that you know where coalition governments— someone told me that it's like forced marriages or arranged marriages. They don't always work your way, but over time you get to get used to (inaudible). It's better than no marriage, for the sake of the people of Zimbabwe.
Yes, indeed, we've got more than 4 million Zimbabweans in this country. And the passion that myself and Madame Secretary share is on the plight of women and children, and we feel that a full, peaceful resolution of what is going on in Zimbabwe would also give women an opportunity to reclaim their lives.
So that what we have promised each other, to work together to assist the people of Zimbabwe to move faster in the actual implementation of the agreement that they, themselves, have signed.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and South African President Zuma, August 8, 2009Footnote 12
Secretary Hillary Clinton and President Jacob Zuma delivered these remarks in Durban, South Africa
Q. Does this start a new relationship between the US and South Africa? Is this a new era?
President Zuma. We've always had relations with the US. What you should say—in both countries, there are two new administrations which are taking that relationship a level higher. That is what we're trying to do. I think that's what the new Administration ought to do and therefore that shouldn't surprise you. And that's why you see the Secretary of State here in Durban. [inaudible] I'm sure they want you hear your voice.
Q. Madame Secretary, is that how you see it?
Secretary Clinton. That is exactly how I see it. I so appreciate the time that the President has given us this morning amidst a very busy schedule to reaffirm the importance of the relationship between our two countries, which he and President Obama had a chance to speak about when they were both in Italy together for the G8. We have been tasked by our respective presidents—the Foreign Minister and I—to put meat on the bones so to speak. To get to work. To make sure that the expectations of both President Zuma and President Obama are met as we work more closely together on our bilateral relationship as well as on regional and global challenges that we need to be leading on—the betterment of not only both of our nations but the world.
President Zuma. That answers all questions.
Q. [Inaudible]
Secretary Clinton. Let me just say that we discussed everything from the President's views on regional issues from Zimbabwe to Somalia to Sudan to global issues like climate change. We had a broad-ranging, very substantive discussion and I greatly appreciated the President sharing with us his advice and suggestions about how we can make progress. We have the same goals for a peaceful, progressive, prosperous continent starting in southern Africa of course, but moving north, west and east and the President's advice was extremely helpful to us.
Q. Was there any discussion around the US having forward bases in South Africa?
Secretary Clinton. There is no discussion of that. That has never been raised by any of us in any of our discussions. It's not an issue.
President Zuma. A final thing. We also discussed the necessity of the transformation of global institutions so that they reflect the global realities of the day. But that's all. I think that's fine. Thank you very much. Secretary Clinton. Thank you.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and Angolan Foreign Minister dos Anjos, August 9, 2009Footnote 13
Secretary Hillary Clinton and Minister Assuncao Afonso dos Anjos delivered these remarks in Luanda, Angola
Foreign Minister dos Anjos. Your Excellency, Secretary of State, members of the U.S. delegation, members of the country of Angola, members of the press, it's a great pleasure to be here and meet with you after a very, very productive conversation as I've just had with Her Excellency Secretary Hillary Clinton.
Of course, I must say that I first met Her Excellency the Secretary at the airport, where I, of course, said to her, “Please feel at home, you are at home, you are among friends here in Angola.” But what's really important to stress here is that just a little after two months, just a little bit after two months after I was in Washington and I had the honor to be welcomed to Washington by Secretary Clinton, here she is among us in Angola to follow up what we had started right there. And of course, allow me to remember here a little bit very shortly the warm welcome, the care with which I was received in Washington and my delegation with me. And here we are trying to reciprocate that very warm welcome.
At the first meeting, Madame Secretary, May 21st, we spoke very, very much and deeply about the changes that have been happening here in Angola, about the deepening of democracy, the timetable for elections, the projects for future elections in our country, the wish that the Angolan people have to create an inclusive society, a tolerant society, a (inaudible) society that has absolute respect for the idea of others, a society that faces the solution of its internal problems on dialogue, a society that solves its problems on democratic institutions.
And we talked a little bit about the solidarity on the new Angolan people with the solidarity of Angolan people towards the region, the willingness and the concern the Angolan people have to resolve and to contribute to solving the conflicts that still remain in our region, if not in our country. Angola (inaudible) on the dialogue to solve the conflicts that still remain in other countries. And Angola speaks continuously about its availability to help neighbors and friends to find the ways towards stability and reconciliation, which are fundamental conditions for development.
And Your Excellency, the world and Africa can count on this decision of Angola to make our continent and the world a continent of peace, an area of stability, an area of development, an area of cooperation, because it is starting with our continent that we're going to interact with other continents, with other states around the world, within this inter-civilizational dialogue which will ultimately lead to the elaboration and solution of the grave and serious problems that touch mankind— instability, drugs, the financial international crisis.
But which is important today, Madame Secretary, is that we count here now, we have you here now, Madame Secretary. And that is that you are here today and we are here, and we are ready to take up what our superiors have decided; that is, to put together a strategic operation between Angola and the United States. And today, during our negotiations and our meeting, we talked about (inaudible) issues (inaudible) cooperation terms on defense, finance, energy, (inaudible), and practically in every each other area of (inaudible) that we're going to undertake and implement.
That being said, I would like to present to you, a member of the press, Her Excellency, the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will now, of course, (inaudible) your attention and who will say, of course, as always, (inaudible) words (inaudible).
Secretary Clinton. Thank you very much, Mr. Minister, for that warm welcome. It is a pleasure for me and my delegation to be in Angola, and I bring greetings from President Obama, who looks forward to a very positive, productive relationship between our two countries.
The minister and his colleagues in government and I, along with my delegation, just concluded a very productive discussion on a wide range of issues. Peace and stability after 27 years of conflict have given the Angolan people the opportunity to realize their great potential and given the Angolan Government the opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate that democracy, peace and stability delivers results for people.
The United States will partner with you in the comprehensive strategic partnership that the minister and I have discussed. We will work together to revitalize agriculture in Angola. It was once a great economic sector with many jobs that was destroyed by war, but it is capable of becoming an engine for economic growth for Angola.
We will cooperate to enhance regional security here in southern Africa. We will partner against the scourges of HIV/AIDS and malaria. I am proud that through our PEPFAR initiative and the malaria initiative, the United States has helped Angola cut in half the number of children who die from malaria by the end of next year.
We discussed ways to deepen and strengthen our energy partnership, including a commitment to work with Angola on renewable energy, including hydropower. Later today, I will meet with the petroleum minister to explore ways to advance energy security while ensuring that energy resources are a force for development and progress in Angola and Africa.
We will work to expand trade and investment between our two countries by implementing our Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. We know that opportunity and prosperity for the Angolan people depend on good governance and strong democratic institutions. That requires a strong civil society, transparency, accountability, and vigilance in the fight against corruption.
We are encouraged by the steps the Angolan Government has taken for greater democratic participation, including the legislative elections the last year, the first in 16 years, and they were peaceful and credible. We look forward to Angola building on this positive step, including the adoption of a new constitution, investigating and prosecuting past human rights abuses, and holding a timely, free, and fair presidential election.
Mr. Minister, we have our work cut out for us, and I look forward to an ongoing and comprehensive dialogue and to making progress together.
Q. Good morning, ministers. Mary Beth Sheridan from The Washington Post.
For Secretary Clinton, good governance has been a major theme of your trip through Africa. In Angola, there's a very high level of corruption, according to Transparency International, and the President seems to be delaying the elections. Could you tell us how much did you press these two issues?
And for the Angolan minister, how do you explain that Angola is now Africa's largest oil producer, and yet it ranks near the bottom of the United Nations development index? Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. Well, let me begin by saying that corruption is a problem everywhere. And where it exists, it undermines people's faith in democracy and distorts governance and prevents the full involvement of people in their societies and the delivery of services to citizens.
And of course, we raised this issue with the minister. But I think it's only fair to add that Angola has begun taking steps to increase transparency. The Angolan Government is now publishing online the revenues they receive from the oil industry. They are working with United States Treasury officials on how to bring more transparency and efficiency into the government budget and fiscal affairs.
The government has already begun and is committed to using its revenues to build up the infrastructure of Angola, as evidenced by the many roads that are being built throughout the country. And of course, the government is acting. After 27 years of conflict that undermined the fabric of society, Angola has accomplished not only a peaceful resolution but the reconciliation of its citizens, one with the other.
And so the issues of good governance, rule of law, anti-corruption efforts will be part of the strategic partnership that the minister and I will lead.
Foreign Minister dos Anjos. Thank you for your question. Of course, there are moments where we have opportunity to talk like we've been talking with Secretary of State about the efforts that we have been undertaking here to increase the respect for human rights, to—the efforts that we have been undertaking here to create the structures that will allow us to fight against poverty, to bring dignity to every citizen of our country.
Well, your question was very succinct: How Angola, who produces so much oil, has so many poverty pockets? Let me try to answer your question. In order for us to invest the revenues from oil gradually in the creation of jobs and bringing dignity to our people, we need to do something, and if you'll allow me now, I would like to paraphrase a very, very important sentence that President Obama used in his speech in Accra. You have to invest—and I paraphrase now—in men and infrastructure.
In order to create wealth, to have more jobs, to create development, to increase the well-being of the population, it's not just taking money from oil revenues and give a little bit of money to each citizen of the country. No, what you have to do is you have to multiply that money. How do you do that? You invest. You invest in the economic (inaudible) of the country, the creation of jobs, so that you will multiply that wealth, it will become even greater. You have to invest in what? In men. And how do you invest in men? Men is the first factor of production of a society. So how do you invest in these? Well, its education, and you invest in infrastructure so he can do his job, invest in growth, which will, of course, increase trade. So you have products that go to market, you have factors of production that go to the factories and goods that go everywhere. And there you multiply that money.
And that will, of course, provide for a (inaudible). So the government elects to give you this information. The government gives the financing models, using the revenue from oil, in order to generate more capital by investing in fundamental sectors like agriculture and industry. So for your information, what the government is doing, the government created a development bank for small and medium enterprises to give credit to small and medium entrepreneurs, and the capital for that bank comes from 5 percent tax from oil and diamonds. And the credit goes to agriculture because agriculture creates jobs, gives us food security, feeds the people.
I don't want to be too long, but we also have a program that aims at building up men, homes for people. We're talking about—I'll do a quick parallel here. We're criticized because we didn't do elections. We asked for more time. We did it. We are asking one more time now for this too. We have the structures, we have the willingness, and we can ensure a better life to our people, and we'll do it.
It's not a magic wand that will resolve this (inaudible). We need well-structured, well-designed programs, meaning programs that will gradually create wealth and create well-being. Thank you.
Q. Thank you. Shaun Tandon with AFP. Madame Secretary, I wanted to ask about—China has been (inaudible) investor in Angola and other African countries, but widely is seen as not pushing the same agenda of human rights and good governance as the United States. Do you believe that in some sense this gives China an unfair commercial advantage when it comes to lucrative sectors like oil in Angola?
And for my follow-up with His Excellency, what specifically did you request from Secretary Clinton, and is there anything that the United States could provide to Angola which China could not?
Secretary Clinton. Well, Shaun, the activities of China in Africa and around the world are ones that are intended to further their interests and their economic involvement as well as in some areas the development of the countries in which they operate.
One of the areas that we have discussed with the Chinese in our Strategic & Economic Dialogue is how we can work more closely together on development in Africa. But I'm not looking at what anyone else does in Angola. I'm looking at what the United States can do to further and deepen our relationship and provide assistance and support for the changes that the Angolan Government is undertaking.
Foreign Minister dos Anjos. We presented, of course, a program, a series of actions that we would like to implement in partnership so we could, of course, benefit from the experience of the United States in terms of knowledge, know-how, so we could benefit from that.
And as I said at the beginning, this, of course, covers practically all areas of activity that you can think of for any society. So to conclude, we would like to take benefit from the best technological experience of the United States, the financial capacity of the United States, that jointly we could together (inaudible) develop our country.
Q. Madame Secretary, Angolan TV. What is the U.S. program in terms of technology transfer to Africa in terms especially of reduction of gas emissions and also in terms of a program for training, technical training, in Angola? That would be the first question.
The second is: Do you know that Angola is a member of the Commission of the Gulf of Guinea, the Gulf of Guinea being the second largest oil reserve after the Middle East. My question is: During this visit, and given the agreements that you may sign, does that contemplate the possibility for the United States to also explore and exploit oil in the Gulf of Guinea?
The third question is: What are the plans, if any, of the Obama Administration to help the African Union solving any conflicts in the continent, in Africa?
Secretary Clinton. Well, those are three very important questions, and I will try to be brief in my answers.
We discussed the technical assistance and support the United States can provide Angola to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate against the effects of climate change. Three specific areas: one, hydropower; two, working with Angola to protect natural resources like the Congo Basin, what is called a carbon sink; also, to work with Angola to prevent the flaring of gas and the recapture of that gas so that it can be put to productive use. So we will work closely with not only the Government of Angola but the private sector and civil society to reduce gas emissions.
Secondly, the United States, as you know, is already involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the Gulf of Guinea. And I'm sure that we'll continue, but we would like to make sure that any exploration and production of oil and gas benefits the people of the countries around the Gulf of Guinea.
And finally, with respect to the African Union, the United States supports the efforts of the African Union to solve conflicts around the continent. The United States is the largest financial supporter of the African Union Mission in Somalia. And we will continue to support the African Union efforts to bring peace and stability to the African continent.
Thank you all very much.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 10, 2009Footnote 14
Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered these remarks in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Secretary Clinton. I am here today because the United States is committed to the people of the DRC. We believe in your promise and your potential, and we want to be your partners in strengthening democratic institutions, building civil society, and creating an economy that spreads the wealth of its country to more people.
Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at a town hall at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. Wangari Maathai was there. She is the great Kenyan environmental activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize. She made a comment that stuck with me. Here is what she said: “Africa is rich. The gods must have been on our side when they created the planet, and yet we are poor.”
I thought about her comment again a few days later when I toured an AIDS clinic in a rural part of South Africa that has chronic poverty and one of the highest HIV rates in the world. It is also in the area where the largest diamond ever found was discovered. Yesterday, I was in Angola, one of the biggest oil producers in the world—now the seventh biggest oil producer in the world—yet the majority of people live in poverty. Tomorrow, I will go to Goma, an area wealthy in mineral resources, to visit with refugees and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. That is truly one of mankind's greatest atrocities.
This continent and this country have seen humanity at its worst. But you have also seen it at its best. You see it in the many acts of kindness between people who help each other even though they themselves have so little. You see it in a man who did so well in America, but decided to build a hospital that treats 100 patients a day and has created hundreds of jobs in the country he calls home. You see it in the activists from Kenya to Ghana, from South Africa to Senegal, who are leading movements against poverty, hunger, violence, and environmental destruction. You see it in Mo Ibrahim, one of world's most successful entrepreneurs who decided to bring cell phones to Congo when no one else thought it was worth the investment.
I saw it in women researchers in Kenya who are developing new techniques to improve agriculture for African farmers, particularly the 70 percent of whom are women. I saw it in a woman I first met in 1997 in Cape Town, a homeless woman who had been pushed from her village by apartheid and was squatting on the side of a road, who decided she wanted to build a home. And she didn't wait for government. She didn't wait for a university. She didn't wait for anybody. She began to talking to her neighbors and then studying about what they could do, this woman with no education at all. And they decided to form a group, and they would save their money, the small amount of money they made from working in a home or sweeping a street or selling vegetables in the market. And when they had saved enough money, they began to build homes.
I visited in 1997 when they started. I brought my husband when he was President Bill Clinton back in 1998, and I went back a few days ago. These uneducated women and a few good men have built 50,000 homes in South Africa.
There are so many people who are battling against the odds. They need help. They need support. They need government leaders and business leaders who will understand the struggle and be part of the solution.
Now, you are students, and I remember I was once a student. And sometimes it is hard to know, what can I do to address the crisis in Goma and eastern Congo or take on corrupt officials or stand up for the fight for equality?
This is a big and diverse country, but it is one country and it deserves your best efforts to help make a difference. And you never know what might happen once you start working with people who need leadership, advice, and counsel, speaking out on behalf of those who are voiceless. You don't have to be a 7-foot, 2-inch all-star basketball player or have an arm-span that reaches across two continents. You can use new technology. Use those cell phones to help organize, create political movements, expose crime and violence and corruption, empower the poor with information, access to credit, and social networks. Members of COJESKI are already demanding higher standards for yourselves, your government, and your country.
So think about what you will do both as students and when you finish school and become politicians or civil servants or teachers or journalists or military officers or entrepreneurs, lawyers or judges. And do not forget the commitment you feel today to making the change that your country deserves.
The United States stands ready to help you. We know that the promise of the DRC is limitless. We will help you build a strong, civilian-led government that is accountable and transparent, an independent judiciary, a professional military that respects human rights, a free press, and an active and engaged citizenry, a society whose institutions follow the rule of law.
I appreciate your being here this afternoon because I want to listen even more than talk. I want your ideas and suggestions about what we can do better. President Obama and I are committed to this effort. We see Africa as central to the future of the world, and we know that right here in the center of Africa there is so much we can do together for the betterment of the people of the DRC.
Thank you all very much.
Q. My name is Willie Kalahar, University of Kinshasa. I have one concern only. We want to know today that each year—almost each year our reports are published with regard to human rights violations in the DRC, and also with regard to the pillage of resources, mining resources of our country and forest resources as well. And with regard to all these reports, we have never heard a single declaration from the United States, be it to condemn the Congolese authorities involved in all this, or be it a word to say that we have listened to this. And now that you're here, Mrs. Secretary of State, what are you today going to tell us or promise us for the future, because it is always the same authorities who continue to be with us. Thank you very much.
Secretary Clinton. Let me start by saying that I am not only listening, but I condemn the exploitation of the great natural resources in this country, and we want to work with civil society and others in the DRC against the corruption that undermines the development of this country and the creation of jobs and prosperity that would lift more people out of poverty. I am particularly concerned about the exploitation of natural resources, like the mining and the timber, where the revenues do nothing to help the people of this country.
We want very much to work with the DRC on the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative that would require more openness about who's getting the contracts, what the revenues are, and where the money goes. We want also to work with all of you to create a fund for the people so that as your natural resources are used, some of those revenues will come back to build roads, to build hospitals, to build and train—to build schools and train teachers.
So I very much condemn the exploitation and the expropriation of the natural resources of this country. It is what Wangari Maathai was referring to. Africa is so rich and most of the people are so poor. We want to have the riches of Africa benefit the poor people of Africa.
Q. My name is Frances Yehta. My question is short. As a woman, what is your opinion with regard to the phenomenon that is called sexual violence which is very important here and particularly in the east, and also the mechanisms against impunity and criminality?
Secretary Clinton. One of the reasons that I'm going to Goma tomorrow is to speak out against the sexual and gender-based violence that has affected women and girls in eastern Congo. I think it's right to say that 13,000 women a month are raped. It's an astonishing and horrible figure, and many of them are children. The entire society needs to be speaking out against this. It should be a mark of shame that this happens anywhere, in any country.
We will be announcing some programs to help the victims of this terrible violence who are often physically hurt in very serious ways. But we have to do more to prevent it. And we have to speak out against the impunity of those in positions of authority who either commit these crimes or condone them. Any person who commits a crime, and that's what this is, should be arrested and prosecuted. And the militias that are operating in the east are too often able to commit these crimes with no accountability at all.
And as you, I'm sure, have heard, there are even some cases of these terrible crimes committed by members of the Congolese military. And the United Nations has asked that five people who we have evidence that they committed these crimes in the military be prosecuted. And three of them are being and two more have been arrested. We have to keep the pressure on the government, and we have to keep the pressure on the governments of neighboring countries—Uganda, Rwanda—so that all together, we can end this scourge of violence. But let me also add, violence against women is not limited to one part of one country. Violence against women happens everywhere, to a greater or lesser degree.
We are now in the 21st century. It is no longer acceptable for there to be violence against women in the home, in the community. And people need to stand together against it. And so I hope that here in the DRC there will be a concerted effort to demand justice for women who are violently attacked and to make sure that their attackers are punished. And I hope that students will take the lead in this to speak out, because these are fundamental human rights and we need to protect them. Just as much as we worry about exploitation of minerals, we need to worry about exploitation of women. Because both of them undermine democracy and the rule of law. So I hope that that will become a real cause here in Kinshasa that will sweep across the country.
Q. Thank you. My name is Oteko, a law faculty of Kinshasa University. Mrs. Clinton, I would like to say here that the United States say that the Congo can only develop through the efforts of the Congolese. It becomes a little bit of a paradox why. The Congolese do want to work for the interests of the Congo, but there is the implication—your (inaudible) implication of the United States which does not allow the Congolese to work for the interests of the Congo.
For example, none of the Congolese students can deny that when Laurent-Désiré Kabila came into this country, we lived—we all had at least some hope of a better future, but later it was a hope which has been stopped. And we know—I have just read a book published in 2009 by (inaudible) and prefaced by an American lady, which shows the implication of the United States in the conflict of the east and in the process which we have known in this country.
And I am a little bit concerned at the disappearance of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, which I can attribute there are some origins in the United States. So what— can you reassure us today—us, Congolese students—that is it true that if I become president tomorrow of this country, will I be autonomous and independent and work for the interest of my compatriots, or will I be—will I be killed if I refuse to follow what I am being told?
Secretary Clinton. I cannot excuse the past and I would not try. Many countries, including many in Europe and many in Africa, have interfered with the development and the potential of the Congolese people; that is a fact. Now, we may argue about the specific issues that are raised, but there has been a history of colonialism and a history of interference. I'm only here to make a very simple point: We can either think about the past and be imprisoned by it, or we can decide we're going to have a better future and work to make it. That is the choice. Every human being who gets up every morning has that choice. Will I be dragged down by the past, or will I decide to do something that will give me the chance to have a better future?
President Obama and I want to do whatever we can to give you the chance to have a better future. There are many people and countries with interests in your country. A lot of the mining that is going on that is helping to fund the violence in the east has nothing to do with the United States. Many of the problems that exist in your political system and your government have nothing to do with the United States. So we take responsibility for the role that we have played in the past, but others must as well.
And now we have a choice: Do we try to figure out how to work together and build that better future, or not? Now, there are many countries in Africa that want to work with the United States, so we have choices, too. We can go work with people who are willing to forget the past and focus on the future. We're not going to work with people who are looking backwards, because that's not going to get us where we want to go.
So that is really the offer that President Obama and I are making. We expect more from your government, whoever is in your government. We expect more transparency and accountability. We expect more from your neighbors and from other countries and corporations that do business in your country.
It's not going to change overnight. There are problems that go back hundreds of years. But that's our choice, and we stand ready to work with you in civil society, and particularly the academic community, both faculty—I was once a law professor, so both faculty and students, with the private sector, with civil society, with all of the constituent parts of this country. But everybody has to decide they want to go forward. That's the choice. And we will talk with your government. I came here before I spoke with anybody in your government to hear what was on your mind. And we will do what we can to help you, but it is an accurate saying that President Obama said in Ghana: The future of Africa is up to Africans.
I'll give you an example. Why does this country allow its natural resources to be exploited and expropriated through corruption? Bad leadership, no pressure against the forces that want to do that. Compare this country with Botswana. When Botswana discovered diamonds, their leaders said let's put the revenues from the diamonds into a fund for the future of Botswana.
So how many of you have ever been to Botswana? Anybody been to Botswana? If you go to Botswana, there are roads everywhere in Botswana. There are not roads everywhere in the DRC. There is clean water everywhere in Botswana. There is not clean water everywhere in the DRC. Why? Because the leaders and the people of Botswana, without any other country interfering, said we're going to have a law, and we're not going to let you come in an exploit our natural resources unless we can get money to go for the betterment of our country. Contrast that to what is going on now in this country.
So there are choices. And we will help you, if that is your desire, to make choices that will give you a better future.
Q. Thank you. My name is Esther Nyagi. I'm a student at the University of Kinshasa in law. Earlier, you just mentioned a choice, or an offer. This choice is motivated by what? We are— are we—do we—are we inspiring your pity so much that you say I have to go here and help these people, or what is your motivation?
Secondly, you are here—you finance COJESKI through the Search for Common Ground. What we—the youth, can we expect from your visit here and, in particular, through COJESKI? Thank you very much.
Secretary Clinton. Well, I've always wanted to come here, and this seemed like a good reason to come, because I have known some very brave Congolese in my country and have read about others who have stood up for human rights and for changes in government, or who have, like Dikembe, given their resources to help their people. And I guess I would describe it as a motivation of hope. You know President Obama ran on the idea of hope. And hope is an important ideal, but if it's not brought down to earth and translated into action, it stays up in the clouds.
So President Obama and I look at the opportunities for this country, and we see great hope and we see great potential. And we think that there is a lot that we could do together. I will be very honest with you. We don't need to do any of this. Let me be honest. You have a lot of other people who are in your country, who are involved in your country, who are doing things for good and for not so good. And especially with President Obama, all of Africa wants to be a partner with the United States. So there are many places that are saying come up help us with renewable energy, come help us with women's rights, come help us with health and education, come help us with security, come help us with governance and to fight against corruption. So we have a lot to do.
But this particular place at this particular moment in time holds out such promise. I think it is what would be described as at a tipping point. There is the opportunity to pull everyone together and make progress, and there is the opportunity to stay down and stuck in the past where individuals, like many of you, will do fine. You will get your education. You will do well if you stay in this country. You will do well if you leave this country. But the vast majority of Congolese will not.
So it is our hope that we would have the chance to work together in a positive way to respond to the needs of the Congolese people, and to be part of helping to build that better future that will give the vast majority of Congolese a chance at a better life.
What motivates me ever since I was a law student is the opportunity to help children. Today at the hospital, I saw a picture of a child who was born prematurely and was about to die. And his parents carried that baby to three hospitals, and every one said, I'm sorry, that baby will die. And then the parents decided to go to the hospital that Dikembe built. And there they found not just hope; they found well trained doctors and nurses, they found modern equipment, and they saved that baby's life.
So there was a picture of what the baby looked like when he came into the hospital, and then there was a picture of this very healthy, fat baby with a big smile as a result of the work of one person and the team that he put together. That can be multiplied across this country. We are ready to help if you want our help.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 10, 2009Footnote 15
Secretary Hillary Clinton was interviewed by Raga TV in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Q. Welcome, Madame Secretary.
Secretary Clinton. Thank you.
Q. We are very happy to have you here in Democratic Republic of the Congo. That's your first visit in Africa as Secretary of State. What have you chosen—why have you chosen Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Secretary Clinton. Well, both President Obama and I are committed to making the development and democratization of Africa a priority in our foreign policy. And we think that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has tremendous potential and promise. We know all of the problems. We have analyzed and discussed the difficulties that the development of this country faces. But I'm here to really create a new partnership between our countries and to look for ways that we can work together.
Q. What do you mean, in creating a new partnership? President Obama said in Kenya that we—the USA and Africa has to work as partner, but the Democratic Republic of Congo is known as the most conflict country—no money, a $50 million US dollar (inaudible) sufficient, and no Marshall Plan to improve the infrastructure and the things to (inaudible). How can you help this country?
Secretary Clinton. Well, I think there are several things. As President Obama also said in Ghana, the future of Africa is up to Africans. The future of this country is up to the Congolese people. The choices as to what direction you go are truly yours to make.
For example, the country has an extremely rich reservoir of natural resources. Right now, the benefits from those resources are not ending up broadly developing the country. They are either being taken out of the country or they are ending up in the hands of a very few people. There are models for what has worked elsewhere. The model that Botswana used when it discovered diamonds—it made sure there was a trust fund created for the country so that all of the money didn't leave the country. In order to let a company like De Beers exploit their diamonds, they said we want to own 20 percent of the company. And as a result, if you go to Botswana, you see good roads, you see clean water, because the people and their leaders said we're not going to be exploited and we're not going to let the benefits end up in a very few hands.
So there are ways that (inaudible) the government of the DRC could be doing things differently. I think also in terms of transparency and accountability, many institutions in the world, like the World Bank, would be very willing to come in and help in this country. But they want to make sure that whatever help they give doesn't end up in a very few hands. I mean, you know that the human rights issues, the corruption issues are very serious. The impunity of people who commit either financial corruption or abuses of human rights means that the investors around the world don't come unless they think that they can get their investment secure.
So there's a lot to be done, but a lot of the decisions really depend upon the government of this country and the desire of the people.
Q. This government (inaudible) how can you help? In 1945 in Europe (inaudible) there was a Marshall Plan (inaudible) all the countries (inaudible). This country has a big potential, but it is[n't] reaching it yet. It has to be helped.
Secretary Clinton. But if you look at the amount of money that is coming into this country, there are billions of dollars coming in and there are many billions of dollars going out. Yes, I think more countries and more international institutions would be willing to help, but they have to be sure there's good governance and the rule of law. People will not come to help unless they believe that their help will realize the results that we seek.
And I think that's the dilemma. How do we get to a place where the natural resources of this country are better used for the benefit of the Congolese people? There is an enormous amount of money being made. I mean, every time someone uses a certain type of cell phone, they are using minerals that come right out of eastern Congo. What does that do for the people that I saw on the way from the airport into the city? Nothing. It helps them in no way.
So there has to be a different development model. There has to be a guarantee of better governance, of no impunity, of accountability and transparency. If the government would say we're going to publish on the internet every penny that comes from any source, we want our people to see it, we want the international community to see it, you'd get more help. But now, we're trying to figure out how can we help when nobody is sure that the help will end up helping the people themselves.
Q. Let's talk now about the eastern Congo. The war is not yet finished. How can it be stopped, and how can we stop the (inaudible) sexual violence against women, to stop them and to punish those responsible?
Secretary Clinton. I think there are two things. Obviously, there has to be an agreement—and I commend President Kabila for reaching out to President Kagame of Rwanda and President Museveni of Uganda. There has to be an agreement in the region to end the violence in eastern Congo. The Congolese military has to be better trained. It has to be paid. It has to be disciplined in order to defend the people and their interests. And that is an area where we and other countries and the UN are willing to help.
There has to be an end of the paying of the militias by mineral interests and other interests that buys impunity and gives these militias the free rein to terrorize people. And sexual and gender-based violence must be condemned. It must be condemned by everyone in every part of society. People need to be not only ashamed if they commit rape and other sexual violence, but they need to be arrested and prosecuted and punished so that it serves as a strong message that this will not be tolerated. We are working with your military, we are working with your government, and we are also working with the victims to provide the medical care and the support that the victims of these traumatic attacks so desperately need.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 12, 2009Footnote 16
Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered these remarks in Abuja, Nigeria
Introductory Remarks Omitted
Secretary Clinton. I am here on behalf of President Obama and our Administration and my country to deepen and strengthen our relationship. We have had a long history of friendship and partnership with Nigeria, and we want to do even more. But we recognize, as I have told the government officials with whom I have met today, that Nigeria is at a crossroads, and it is imperative that citizens be engaged and that civic organizations be involved in helping to chart the future of this great nation.
I have seen the best and the most distressing of what is happening in Africa today. Yesterday, I was in eastern Congo, one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth, yet one that is replete with human misery. Today, I am in Nigeria, a country that produces 2 million barrels of oil a day, has the seventh-largest natural gas reserves of any country in the world, but according to the United Nations, the poverty rate in Nigeria has gone up from 46 percent to 76 percent over the last 13 years.
Now, there are many reasons why Nigeria has struggled. There is the destructive legacy of colonialism, there are wars, including a devastating civil war. There are other external forces. But as President Obama said in Ghana in his historic speech, the future of Africa is up to the Africans, and the future of Nigeria is up to the Nigerians. The most immediate source of the disconnect between Nigeria's wealth and its poverty is a failure of governance at the local, state, and federal level.
And some of that is due, as you know so well, to corruption, others of it to a lack of capacity or mismanagement. But the World Bank recently concluded that Nigeria has lost well over $300 billion during the last three decades as a result of all of these problems. And therefore, it is imperative that we look at where Nigeria is today and, in the spirit of friendship and partnership, of a country that has made its own mistakes, has had its own problems, we look for ways to help one another, and particularly to help the people of this country.
The raw numbers, 300 billion, 2 million barrels of oil—they're staggering. But they don't tell you how many hospitals and roads could have been built. They don't tell you how many schools could have opened, or how many more Nigerians could have attended college, or how many mothers might have survived childbirth if that money had been spent differently. The lack of transparency and accountability has eroded the legitimacy of the government and contributed to the rise of groups that embrace violence and reject the authority of the state. We deplore the attacks perpetrated by any armed group, whether they be religious extremists, militias, or criminals. But addressing the challenges that they and the poverty of the country pose takes more than action by your excellent military or your police. It requires fixing Nigeria's flawed electoral system—establishing a truly independent electoral council.
In order to create a peaceful, stable environment that creates development among the people, citizens need to have confidence that their votes count, that their government cares about them, that democracy can deliver basic services. They need to know that officials will be replaced if they break the law or fail to deliver what they have promised. And they each know that Nigeria's natural resources, particularly your oil and your gas, will be used to invest in social development programs that benefit all Nigerians, particularly the poorest. We stand ready to work with you and with your government and with civil society to help realize these goals.
The foundation of a democracy is trust. And a democracy doesn't always behave perfectly. And a democracy is not just about elections. It's about an independent judiciary and a free press and the protection of minority rights and an active legislative body that holds the executive accountable. It is about building those democratic institutions.
Again, to refer to President Obama's speech, what Africa needs is not more strong men, it needs more strong democratic institutions that will stand the test of time. Without good governance, no amount of oil or no amount of aid, no amount of effort can guarantee Nigeria's success. But with good governance, nothing can stop Nigeria. It's the same message that I have carried in all of my meetings, including my meeting this afternoon with your president. The United States supports the 7-point agenda for reform that was outlined by President Yar'Adua. We believe that delivering on roads and on electricity and on education and all the other points of that agenda will demonstrate the kind of concrete progress that the people of Nigeria are waiting for.
We also believe that civil society has a very big job to do. And by civil society, I include all of the organizations that are formed by citizens, the NGOs, the faith-based groups, everyone working together. You have already helped to elevate the ideals of democracy, but now you must use the political system to encourage Nigeria's leaders to serve the common good. There need to be watchdog groups, like NEDI to push for transparency. There need to be journalists, including many of you in this audience, who will shine a bright light on any abuses of the public trust or those who would enrich themselves at the expense of Nigeria's citizens; independent courts and prosecutors, institutions to punish wrongdoers and deter future wrongdoing; citizens who persist and persevere often against long odds.
The capacity for good governance exists in Africa and it exists right here in Nigeria. We have seen it in many places, and we have seen it here in Nigeria. I know that it doesn't sometimes feel like it's possible because the climb is so high, but I have great confidence in what Nigeria is capable of doing. If you think about it, you've had one election that has made a peaceful transfer of civilian authority to civilian authority. And to the president— your president's great credit, at his own inaugural address, he admitted that the election that put him in office had been flawed. And I think that there are the ingredients, the ingredients of determination, of effort, that must be mixed into a cake that all of Nigeria can feel they have a part in making and enjoying.
We have seen good governance in other places in your government, such as the action taken recently by all sectors of Nigerian society to fight human trafficking. We watched Nigeria make changes and moved it into the top tier of countries in the world because the society decided to solve a problem.
You have worked with international partners, along with my own country. We've seen the start of promising reforms, including reductions in trade barriers and closer cooperation on health care challenges. But there is so much more we can do together. This morning, the foreign minister and I agreed that we would create a bi-national commission to look at all of these issues, to see where the United States could provide technical assistance and support as the changes are made. There are many electoral systems, for example, that work very well in complex societies like Nigeria's. Think about India where you have 500-600 million people voting. The poorest of the poor in remote areas with no electricity, none of the amenities, vote on computers so that when the results are announced, no one questions them. Think about Indonesia, which has only been a democracy for 10 years, a young democracy like Nigeria's. After years of military rule and so many problems, they have just completed a hard-fought election with parties that that contested. And there was a winner, and everyone accepted it.
Now, I know a little bit about running in elections—and I have won some elections and I have lost some elections. And in a democracy, there have to be winners and losers. And part of creating a strong democratic system is that the losers, despite how badly we might feel, accept the outcome because it is for the good of the country that we love.
And of course, in my country, the man I was running against and spent a lot of time and effort to defeat asked me to join his government. So there is a—there is a way to begin to make this transition that will lead to free and fair elections in 2011. We will work with you. We believe so strongly in Nigeria's positive future. We are grateful for what Nigeria has already done. Tomorrow, I will be in Liberia. The people of Liberia owe their freedom to you—the Nigerians, your military, your leaders. The people across Africa owe so much to you. But now, you owe it to yourselves to make sure that your country, which I believe should be not just a leader in Africa, but a leader in the world, produces the kind of results that the intelligence and the hard work of the Nigerian people are capable of producing.
No matter how much President Obama and I want this future for you, it will be up to you to decide whether it happens or not. You are the ones with both the opportunity and the responsibility. But I want you to know, as you walk this path to a stronger democracy that produces results for your people to lift the development of Nigeria up, that you will have us by your side.
Thank you all very much.
Q. Thank you very much. Madame Secretary of State, my name is Clement Wanpoh and I am the pioneer chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group, as well as director of a policy and legal advocacy center. Part of the big problem we have at this time is the collaboration between multinational companies who join our government officials in serious acts of corruption. And a big problem, of course, mentions several international companies, including Halliburton, Siemens, and so on. While in the U.S. and in Europe, some of these companies have been brought to account in terms of the justice process. We find that in the Nigerian legal system, these companies continue to even operate and engage in deeper acts of corruption, leading to severe wastage that could, in fact, have helped to develop us here in this country.
My question is, in terms of cooperation with the Nigerian authorities, what serious efforts have been made to ensure that even when these companies are brought to account in the U.S. that these acts of corruption that they join our public officials and perpetuate in Nigeria is, in fact, brought to an end? Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. Well, you mentioned one of the cases that we have been working on. Two executives, two employees of Halliburton, have been convicted in the United States for their role in corruption here in Nigeria. We are sharing information with the Nigerian legal system as we find it. We want to cooperate closely.
We make our companies take a pledge. They have to sign up to our anti-corruption standards. We're one of the few countries in the world that do that. And when we find evidence of anyone in our companies who have violated our anti-corruption standards, we prosecute if we have sufficient evidence. So we will continue to provide the information and try to work with your government wherever we can.
We think its good business to eliminate corrupt practices. It is better for competition, it's better for the trade and investment environment, it's better for Nigeria's reputation as a place to do business without heavy transaction costs that corruption call on a company to make. So we will do what we can to prosecute those who cross the line who have any American connection, and we want to see reinstatement of a vigorous corruption commission. The EFCC, which was doing work and then has kind of fallen off in the last year—we would like to see it get back into business so that it would be a good partner with us.
Moderator. Thank you very much, Madame Secretary. The man in blue by the (inaudible).
Q. Thank you very much, (inaudible) have the opportunity. Thank you, Madame Secretary of State. My name is Don Lamibasheru. I represent 19 million people with disabilities in this country. I know you have 54 million in the United States. I want to first of all commend the work of the U.S. mission in Nigeria for mainstreaming people with disabilities into society, particularly in the area of making information in appropriate formats, particularly for the blind, in Braille. The electoral reform recommendations, actually, which everyone is talking about, has now been put in Braille by the U.S. mission. Thank you for that.
But we noticed that in the last election, some of our members were banned from participating in elections, those without fingers and amputees, people living affected by leprosy. Now, in the spirit of partnership, we are well aware that there is a machine in the United States, the Electronic Audio Voting Machine, which enables blind people, and all people with disabilities really, to vote by voice, which would then be captured by the machine into the computer and sent out. Now, this is widely used in many states in the U.S., especially Seattle, and (inaudible) and I notice this, I use this in Seattle. Now, how can the U.S. partner with our (inaudible) so that these machines are made available so that all Nigerians can participate actively in the voting process? Thank you.
Secretary Clinton. That's an excellent question. And I will work with our very good ambassador, who many of you know. We will see if there is a way. Now, it depends upon the systems that your government decides to use for elections, but we have worked very hard to make sure that people with disabilities are not disenfranchised, because we don't think it's fair. I mean, people who, as you say, are blind or who have paralysis, they're human beings and they're citizens and they deserve to vote. So we will see if there's any way we can be of help in that area.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and Nigerian Foreign Minister Maduekwe, August 12, 2009Footnote 17
Secretary Hillary Clinton and Minister Ojo Maduekwe delivered these remarks in Abuja, Nigeria
I appreciate also the opportunity to meet here in Nigeria and to develop even stronger ties of friendship and partnership between the people of our two nations. The United States views Nigeria as a friend, an ally, and a partner on so many important issues, as well as an important country in Africa and increasingly, globally. Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, its largest producer of oil, its largest contributor of peacekeepers, a significant trading partner for the United States, and the largest recipient of American direct investment by the private sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.
So given all that, it is critical for the people of Nigeria, first and foremost, but indeed for the United States, that Nigeria succeeds in fulfilling its promise. And in our meeting, I reiterated our appreciation for the strong role that Nigeria has played on the continent. I think it's important to emphasize that without Nigeria, Liberia might not be a free country, Sierra Leone might not have ended decades of war. The role that Nigeria is playing in the Sudan— the recent commander of the peacekeepers in Sudan was, of course, a Nigerian.
On so many important issues, Nigeria reaches out to the African continent to provide technical assistance and advice. And Nigeria has been particularly active on key international and regional issues from Zimbabwe to Niger, and spoke out strongly against the coups in Mauritania and Guinea. Nigerian peacekeepers are increasingly viewed around the world. I saw some of them yesterday in eastern Congo as among the best that can be provided. This puts a burden on the Nigerian Government, which we recognize and express our appreciation for.
Nigeria is also a very strong partner with the United States on the military-to-military front. We're increasingly working together on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, one of the most critical and dangerous places because of the combination of rebel movements, drug traffickers, gun runners, and other criminal elements.
We also appreciate the increasing cooperation we've received from Nigeria on counterterrorism, on our joint efforts against the scourge of drugs. And I want to applaud Nigeria for the progress that it made in a relatively short period of time moving up to Tier 1 in our annual report on human trafficking. We know that was a concerted commitment by the Nigerian Government, and they really stepped up.
Now we know too that Nigeria faces a range of tough challenges, including the challenges of government capacity and the rule of law and corruption and keeping this large, diverse country moving forward. And therefore, we strongly support and encourage the Government of Nigeria's efforts to increase transparency, reduce corruption, and provide support for democratic processes in preparation for the 2011 elections. I noted that the president, who has been pushing an agenda that includes electoral reform, security in the Niger Delta, has really put himself out there to try to deliver. And we support these efforts and talked specifically about how the United States might be able to encourage the electoral forums, including the creation of an independent electoral council in preparation for the next elections.
We also support the Nigerian Government's comprehensive political framework approach toward resolving the conflict in the Niger Delta. This process, as it was explained to me by several of the ministers who were present, is incorporating the region's stakeholders as absolutely essential, focusing on the region's development needs, separating out the militants and the unreconcilables from those who deserve amnesty and want to be part of building a better future for that part of Nigeria. And we have offered, again, our support and that of the international community.
The minister and I agreed to establish a bi-national commission that will look at the broad range of issues not only at the federal government, but I particularly appreciated the minister's invitation to the chair of the governors' forum. Because coming from our country, we know how much work gets done at the state and local level. And therefore, we see an opportunity to have this bi-national commission work at the federal and national level, as well as on the local and state level.
So it's a pleasure to be here and to pursue and further develop this strong relationship that means so much to both of our countries.
Q. Still going back to United (inaudible) issues (inaudible), I wanted to know how far the American Government and (inaudible) the Nigerian Government in dealing with (inaudible) to come back instead (inaudible) foreign companies (inaudible) America (inaudible)?
Secretary Clinton. Well, the defense minister was present at the second larger meeting that the foreign minister convened, and he had some very specific suggestions as to how the United States could assist the Nigerian Government in their efforts, which we think are very promising, to try to bring peace and stability to the Niger Delta. We will be following up on those. There is nothing that has been decided. But we have a very good working relationship between our two militaries.
So I will be talking with my counterpart, the Secretary of Defense, and we will, through our joint efforts, through our bi-national commission mechanism, determine what Nigeria would want from us for help, because we know this is an internal matter, we know this is up to the Nigerian people and their government to resolve, and then look to see how we would offer that assistance.
Moderator. And last person on the list, Jeffrey Gettlemen of The New York Times.
Q. Thank you for that introduction.
Secretary Clinton. Does he know you?
Q. (Inaudible.) I wanted to ask about the religious violence a couple weeks ago. And this first part of the question is for both of you, please. How concerned are you that this is part of a broader trend of Islamic extremism sweeping across North Africa? And is there any evidence that there was foreign links to what happened here, either al-Qaida or other groups operating in (inaudible)?
And then the second part of the question is for you, Madame Secretary. What did you think of the way they responded? And do you condone how they handled the uprising?
Foreign Minister Maduekwe. Let me say, please, about Nigerians—whether of this Muslim faith, the (inaudible) part of Nigeria or the Christian faith, we have (inaudible) Christian heritage a part of (inaudible) too. And our population is (inaudible) by Islam (inaudible).
One thing you can say about Nigerian believers of any of the (inaudible) faiths is that they have a deficit in societal impulses. We are far from being fanatics by nature. For one, we love life. We love there is heaven, but we don't want to get there by doing stupid things before we get there. So I can say this on record, that the kind of fundamentality that defies the wishes of the Almighty God, by taking other people's lives, and there's nowhere in the Quran or in the Bible where that (inaudible), that kind of fanaticism can never take hold in the culture of Nigeria.
But I must admit that from time to time, there has been this spasm of violence which comes across in the name of religion that really is not based on religion. It's not—(inaudible) for political reasons that some young impressionable people are rather exploited by some power with (inaudible). Nothing can justify it. (Inaudible) is being confronted. We have (inaudible)—in this government, and that's what the rule of law is about—and we are moving beyond the old matter of saying, well, look for peace first, look for settlement, perhaps if you punish back to (inaudible), no. Well, look (inaudible) that work out.
Our determination is to punish through the process of rule of law when there is this kind of incidents. So about the recent one that happened or because of external (inaudible) securities, look here at (inaudible). Is it possible that some fanatical group which is alien to our culture are beginning to try to (inaudible)? We know that the entire world is faced with those possibilities, and we don't want to be naïve to think that Nigeria is not on the radar of such extremist groups. And then again, where there's so much (inaudible) and fighting and importance for us to work very closely with (inaudible), since we all face common concerns (inaudible).
Secretary Clinton. Well, Jeffrey, my view on this is that the balance within Nigeria between religions and among ethnic groups is very important to maintain, and I think you heard the minister's words about that and certainly, the society's commitment to that. I don't know enough to comment on the specifics of any operation with respect to the reaction to the extremist-generated violence.
But I would say this: I think there is no doubt from our assessments that al-Qaida has a presence in Northern Africa, in the Sahel. There is no doubt in our mind that al-Qaida and like organizations that are part of the syndicate of terror would seek a foothold anywhere they could find one. And whether that is the case here or whether this is a homegrown example of fundamentalist extremism, that's up to the Nigerians to determine.
But I understand the very important priority that the Nigerians place on keeping this balance of religion and ethnic groups in place. And I know that this is a challenge we all face, as the minister said, and I assume that the government will look at its own actions as well as continue the investigation into what might have, if anything, been involved or behind what we saw in the (inaudible) incident. Thank you.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and Congolese Foreign Minister Thambwe, August 12, 2009Footnote 18
Secretary Hillary Clinton and Minister Alexis Thambwe delivered these remarks in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Secretary Clinton. Thank you very much, Mr. Minister. And also I wish to thank the President for receiving me and my delegation today here in Goma. We had a very productive, candid, open, comprehensive discussion. As the foreign minister mentioned, I told the President that President Obama and I want to see a new era of partnership in our relationship with the DRC and the Congolese people.
We know that the DRC, its government, and people face many serious challenges, from the lack of investment and development to the problem of corruption and difficulties with governance to the horrible sexual and gender-based violence visited upon the women and children in the country. We know these are big challenges, and we are ready to help the government address them. I offered and the president accepted my sending a team of legal and financial and other technical experts to the DRC to provide specific suggestions about how to overcome these very serious obstacles to the potential of this country.
We have offered our partnership and assistance, but as I said yesterday, the future of this country, like the countries throughout Africa, is really up to the people. And we hope that there will be a better future for the Congolese people.
Foreign Minister Thambwe. (In French.)
Secretary Clinton. Well, thank you. We discussed in some detail with the president what the situation is now. He said that it is better than it was six months ago and a year ago and five years ago, but it is not what it needs to be yet.
I commended the president for his outreach to Rwanda and other neighboring countries, which is an important part of trying to bring peace and stability to the eastern Congo. And we have begun a discussion as to what ways we could be of help to the Congolese military, including enhancing the training that we are doing, trying to professionalize the military, trying to ensure that the soldiers get paid so that they will not feel so undisciplined.
But of course, we raised concerns about the behavior of soldiers, and I sought specifically for an update about the five senior officers who have been charged with rape. And we are going to continue to work with the government as well as our international partners, including the United Nations, to see how all of us could do more to end the reign of violence that has afflicted the people in the northern and southern Kivu province for too long.
Moderator. Mary Beth Sheridan—
Q. (Inaudible.)
Secretary Clinton. Well, we are very concerned about civilian casualties, both deaths and rapes and other injuries from the military action. We talked at length on the flight here with the United Nations representative and his team about what their forces can do to try to protect civilians. They are launching joint protection teams. We are going to be following that closely, offering whatever assistance we can. And I spoke at length with President Kabila about the steps that need to be taken by the Congolese army to protect civilians.
Q. (Inaudible) …or insecure?
Secretary Clinton. We do support the efforts to end the militias and the violence they have visited so terribly on the people of eastern Congo. We believe that a disciplined, paid army is a more effective fighting force. We believe there can be more done to protect civilians while you are trying to kill and capture the insurgents. We believe there should be no impunity for the sexual and gender-based violence committed by so many, and that there (inaudible) prosecutions and punishment, because that runs counter to peace and stability for the Congolese people.
And I look forward to returning to Goma sometime in the future and traveling through this beautiful part of your country.
Moderator. Janine Zacharia from—
Q. (Inaudible.)
Secretary Clinton. First, with respect to companies that are responsible for what are now being called conflict minerals, I think the international community must start looking at steps we can take to try to prevent the mineral wealth from the DRC ending up in the hands of those who fund the violence here.
Of course, you know that many of the mineral producers are very small operations. They are not corporations even. They are certainly not international, so this is a very challenging problem but we're going to address it.
With respect to Aung San Suu Kyi, she should not have been tried and she should not have been convicted. We continue to call for her release from continuing house arrest. We also call for the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners, including the American John Yettaw.
Q. (Inaudible.)
Foreign Minister Thambwe. I would like to answer two questions that you asked, the one about China and the second (inaudible). For more than a hundred years the riches of the Congo have served to develop foreign countries but not the Congo or the people of the Congo. Geologists say that, as far as our country's concerned, it's a geological scandal. But it's a geological scandal doesn't really serve the people of the Congo. (Inaudible) so far with (inaudible) beneficial to other countries and detrimental to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The (inaudible) government to—has asked the government to study the different approaches to work with other partners who are willing and able to cooperate with us and use our mineral resources and, in turn, help us with our infrastructures.
This country is as big as Western Europe. We don't have a single road that goes from north to south or east to west. So the government wanted to see how we could work in partnership with countries, not only with China, but with other countries that are willing to help us with our infrastructure so that we can solve problems with electricity, water, and poverty in exchange with our mineral resources. So it's not a matter of numbers, but it's a matter of working with anyone, any other partner who is willing and able to help us improve our infrastructures.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 13, 2009Footnote 19
Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered these remarks in Monrovia, Liberia
Secretary Clinton. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for this great honor of having the chance to address the democratically elected legislature of Liberia. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, President pro-tem, all of the members of this legislature in joint session, other dignitaries who are with us today, and especially the people of this country, a country that was engulfed in war just a few years ago.
I know that some of you in this chamber bore arms against each other, but the people of Liberia demanded peace, stability, and a better future. And (inaudible) your being here, committed to the peaceful resolution of dispute, is a great message that the people of Liberia have representatives of a unified government in a parliament and in a presidency entrusted to serve the Liberian people, to help rebuild the nation, and to realize the goals of development that will once again give every boy and girl in this country a chance to fulfill his or her God-given potential. That 14 years of bloodshed and lawlessness could produce peace, free elections, and a democratic government is not so much a triumph of might, but a triumph of the human spirit.
And that is what I would like to talk with you about today—how to keep that spirit alive, how to build strong, democratic institutions, honest and competent leaders, engage citizens on a foundation of human dignity.
I bring greetings from President Obama. The President considers himself a son of Africa, and in his historic speech in Ghana, he said much about what he hoped for (inaudible) on his heart. Remember that he said that the future of Africa is up to the Africans. The future of Liberia is up to the Liberians.
But it is also true that there are paths toward that future which will lead in a positive direction, and there are others that will lead in a negative direction. The choices that are made every day will determine which path Liberia chooses.
When President Johnson-Sirleaf gave her inaugural address to this assembly just three-and-a-half years ago, she identified the core ideals that have guided Liberia's democracy movement through this nation's darkest days—peace, liberty, equality, opportunity, and justice for all. The challenge for every democratic government, whether it is three years old or 233 years old like ours, is how to translate those ideals into results in the lives of people.
Democracy has to deliver, and both President Obama and I believe that dignity is central to what is at the core of successful democracies: a voice for every citizen in the decisions that affect your life, your community, and your country; the opportunity to earn a decent wage and provide for your family and live without fear; an equal chance, no matter what your background, your gender, your faith, ethnicity, or station in life; to combine your motivation and ambition with the opportunity that every society should present to its people; and a government elected freely and fairly, accountable to the people it serves.
This vision of a democratic society is at the root of the democracy that began to flourish just those three-and-a-half years ago. It is still the vision that should guide not only presidential leadership, but parliamentary leadership as well.
Now, I have been on both sides of the street, so to speak. I have been in the White House when my husband was president. I have been in the Senate for eight years in both the majority and the minority for most of the time. And now I am back in the executive branch, working for President Obama. So let me tell you that sometimes it appears to be from both sides of the street. When I have been in the executive branch, I have wondered what the Congress was up to and worried about the Congress. When I was in the Congress, I wondered what the President was up to and worried about the President. Where you stand is often determined by where you sit.
But what I know is how important it is, especially in the beginning, to have a level of cooperation toward meeting the common goals to serve the people, and that no matter where that service finds you, to be resolved, to try to constantly ask yourself what I think is the most important question for any of us in public service: Is what I am doing today—the decision I'm making, the bill I'm writing, the vote I'm casting—likely to make life better for the last and the least among us?
In just three years, there are encouraging signs of progress. Your nation has adopted sound fiscal policies with the support of this legislature. That was not easy, and it is noted around the world. We encourage your legislature to continue developing your budgetary oversight role. You have begun to attack corruption and promote transparency. Liberia has made progress on debt relief, and the economy continues to grow despite the global economic crisis. Land tenure issues that remained persistent impediments to economic progress have resulted in the legislature taking the important step in passing the Land Commission Act. Your president is working hard to build a competent and professional security sector, and all of Liberia can take pride in the fact that this nation now has free and compulsory education for primary school children, including your girls.
So you have been climbing up that mountain that sometimes looks like there is no end in sight. But you still face huge challenges, and we stand ready to help you in partnership and friendship. There are forces at work trying to undermine the progress and fuel old tensions and feuds. Many Liberian people still need jobs, electricity, housing, and education. Law enforcement is still inadequate, and after years of war and lawlessness, institutions have been left crippled, unable to function properly or serve the public efficiently or effectively.
So it is, I think, important to note that given the progress you've made, you must hold on to that and continue up that mountain together—because there is no guarantee that the progress remains. Change is inevitable; progress is not. We live with change every day. What each of us has to do is to master the forces and winds of change to make sure that it results in real, tangible progress for this country.
Now, there are no magic wands or I would have brought one for every one of you. There are no quick-fixes for countries making the transition from violent conflict to lasting peace and stability. But one thing I know for sure—Liberia has the talent, the resources, and the resilience to succeed if everyone works together on behalf of the common good. And Liberia also has the opportunity to be a model not just for Africa, but for the rest of the world.
There is an agenda ahead of us that I stand ready on behalf of our government to continue to offer our assistance to achieve. First, (inaudible) build strong, democratic institutions that work and are accountable and deliver results. If you remember President Obama's speech, he said something which I've heard throughout my travels in Africa, that what Africa needs is not more strong men, but strong institutions, institutions that will stand the test of time, that will, frankly, survive good leaders and not-so-good leaders, but which are strong enough to engender the faith and confidence of the people of Liberia.
Ending corruption is necessary to growing and sustaining such institutions and restoring the public's trust. I have been to countries that are far richer than Liberia. These democracies have been in existence far longer, but because they never tackled corruption, their future is repeating before their eyes.
I will say to you what I said in two days in Nigeria, a country that has the fifth-largest supply of petroleum and gas, so many riches, and yet the number of people living in poverty is growing. Nigeria is now further away from achieving the Millennium Development Goals than they were ten years ago. That is a travesty. That does not have to be either Nigeria's future, and it should not be Liberia's future.
So how do we recognize the importance of ending corruption? I think steps are being taken with the Anti-Corruption Commission. But this legislature should also decide to pass a code of conduct. It is something that—allows you to hold not just yourselves but each other accountable. We have over the years in our Congress realized that human nature being what it is—and I'm a Methodist so I know human nature gets us into most of the trouble we get into—we have to have codes of conduct, regulatory frameworks, ethical standards that guide the pursuit of the common good. It is also critical to have an electoral system that is credible, that will produce free and fair elections in 2011. The world is watching, and we take a personal interest in the elections to come in Liberia because we know that this election, where there will be a peaceful transition of power from one civilian authority to another, will set in motion the future legitimacy of elections for years to come.
The legislature can and must do its part by acting on the threshold bill so that the process can move forward. You've already taken steps in rebuilding effective institutions, and I congratulate you. Conducting a census in the last three years was a very important accomplishment, registering voters, ensuring that the three branches of government are both competent and independent, demonstrating a unity of purpose.
And I think too that as a famous former governor of the state I represented for so many years (inaudible) and I know a place that many of you know well and even lived in from time-to-time, Mario Cuomo once said, “Politics is poetry, but governing is prose.” You go out and campaign as I have. It's easy to say all kinds of things. You get into this chamber, the job becomes harder.
That's why it's important not to let politics, which is a noble and critically essential profession, overwhelm governing. As you prepare and gear up for the upcoming election, keeping in mind that hard, contested elections are part of a democracy, but then to (inaudible).
Now, I've been, again, on both sides. I've won elections, and I've lost elections. In a democracy, there is no guarantee you're going to win. I spent two years and a lot of money running against president Obama, and he won. And then I went to work to elect him. And then, much to my amazement, he asked me to be his Secretary of State. And I must say that one of the most common questions I'm asked around the world, from Indonesia to Angola, is: How could you go to work for someone you were running against? I said, because we both love our country. And I would argue that it is that love that every successful country has to inculcate in its people and its leaders so that the political process of a democracy doesn't break apart the country, doesn't create so much bad blood and ill feelings that people won't accept the outcome of an election, or not believe that they could have lost or refuse to move forward under those circumstances. And that is what we know Liberia can do.
We also know that there must be more done to enhance security for the people of Liberia. Later, I will visit the National Police Academy, where I will announce additional and accelerated U.S. support for the police. As you know, our government is also training the Liberian Armed Forces, and in my meetings with the president and ministers of your government today, we talked about additional ways we could provide security, particularly maritime security, so that the coastline of Liberia, one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, one of the—treasures of this country, will be protected.
We are committed to supporting you as you move forward on this positive, progressive agenda. W e supported you for many years, but now our support is really grounded in our confidence in your capacity, your competence to deliver. Since the peace accords in 2003, we have provided over $2 billion in assistance. We have supported the United Nations security effort. We are committed to helping lift Liberia by building a stronger economy that can spread opportunity and prosperity to more people.
Right now, only 15 percent of the Liberian people work in the formal sector. So job creation and raising incomes is a critical task before you. So we will work with you to strengthen the private sector, enhance trade opportunities, and rebuild infrastructure, including roads, electrification, and information technology. We are assisting your government with natural resources management, food security, education for children, and adults who missed the opportunity to go to school because of the war. And this country is a focus for our Malaria Initiative.
I want to congratulate Liberia for recently gaining eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act. I started my trip in Africa in Nairobi at the AGOA conference, and I and the U.S. Trade Representative and our Secretary of Agriculture emphasized that we want to do more to help countries access and utilize AGOA, and we want to help Liberia to work to achieve more products that can be exported duty-free into the United States market.
I also applaud your efforts to qualify for the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative that will complement the progress that you have made in bringing greater transparency to the management of natural resources. This will improve the business climate, attract investment, and stimulate the creation of jobs. And I want to add that if done right, if you create the legal framework for the exploitation of your natural resources, you will see a revenue stream that will help to build the roads and the infrastructure and the jobs that you're seeking.
There are examples of this around the world, but let me use one example from Africa: Botswana. When diamonds were discovered in Botswana, the Botswana Government, the then-president and the legislature, decided that they were not going to let outsiders or corrupt insiders exploit what was the natural right to the riches of their country of the people. So they created a legal framework, and they required that any company wishing to do business in the diamond industry had to provide significant revenue for the Government of Botswana. They then put that money into an airtight fund. And if you have ever been to Botswana, you can drive anywhere. The roads are in excellent shape. You can drink cool water anywhere, because every time you buy a diamond from DeBeers, some of that money you spend goes to pave roads in Botswana. That's what I want to see for Liberia.
But before I leave this afternoon, at the airport I will present equipment to help make the airport fully operational again. In addition, our Transportation Security Administration through its ASSIST program is working with the Liberian Civil Aviation Authority, the airport, and the Bureau of Immigration to ensure that the airport can meet international safety standards. This will increase domestic and international flights, including those from the United States. And I look forward to that day.
It's a particular honor for [me] to be addressing you, because I remember when President Johnson-Sirleaf addressed our joint session of Congress when I was sitting where you are sitting. (Inaudible.) Thank you. I love that. I want to take him with me wherever I go. Thank you. Excellent.
And I remember when the president described Liberia as a land rich with rubber, timber, diamonds, gold, iron ore, fertile fields, plentiful water, and warm and welcoming sunshine. That paints a really beautiful picture. But even more beautiful are the people of Liberia—hardworking, resourceful, and resilient, but damaged by years of conflict.
We can't mince words; you know that. In the briefing that I and my delegation received from the minister of agriculture, I was stunned when she said there are no livestock left. At the end of the conflict, anything that could be eaten was eaten. People (inaudible) rebuilding agriculture, rebuilding the tools that are needed for each individual to pursue his or her destiny is what this is all about. The talent and resources exist here (inaudible) overcome division, expand opportunities, and ensure that prosperity is more broadly shared across society.
Some of you have seen a film that tells the story of a Liberian woman's efforts to end the war. Tired of the killing and the conflict, she organized women at her church and then other churches and in mosques until thousands of Liberian women had joined a vocal, public movement demanding peace. I remember meeting some of those women years ago. These were women who woke up one day and said, “Enough, enough. We're better than that.”
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” He could have been talking not just about these Liberian women, but about everyone in this chamber who have determined to make Liberia's story be one of hope and opportunity.
I know that the suffering of the people of Liberia has been broad and deep. But now, you each have a chance, both personally and publicly through your service here, to make a stand against the past and for a future that is worthy of the sacrifice and the suffering that went on too long. The United States is proud to support you. We are proud to be your partner and your friend, and we are proud to work with you to realize the full potential of Liberia and its people. God bless Liberia.
Excerpts of Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton and Liberian President Johnson-Sirleaf, August 13, 2009Footnote 20
Secretary Hillary Clinton and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf delivered these remarks in Monrovia, Liberia
President Johnson-Sirleaf. Once again, I'm very pleased to welcome Secretary Clinton and her delegation to express on behalf of the Liberian people our thanks and appreciation, for Liberia has been included on the list of the African countries that she has visited during this tour. We have expressed to her how grateful we are for the partnership Liberia enjoys with the United States, the deep friendship between the people of the United States and the people of Liberia. We look forward to continuing to carry out our part of the bargain to move Liberia forward, open society, democracy, accountability, transparency, developing our country through proper use of our natural resources. And we also look forward to her support and the United States support of our endeavors as we seek to achieve our national development goals.
Thank you for coming, Secretary Clinton.
Secretary Clinton. Thank you very much. I am delighted to be here with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a leader whom I admire and someone who has provided great leadership for her country. I bring warm greetings from President Obama, both to the president and to the people of Liberia.
In our meeting, I conveyed a message to President Sirleaf that I've echoed at other points during this trip. The United States believes in America's—in Africa's promise and Africa's future, and we particularly believe in the promise and future of Liberia. The relationship between our two countries goes back to the earliest days of your (inaudible).
Today, Liberia is a model of successful transition from conflict to post-conflict, from lawlessness to democracy, from despair to hope. For the last three years, the people of this country have been working to promote reform, reconstruction, and reconciliation. Liberia has adopted sound fiscal policy and seen strong economic growth. We just had a briefing about that, and it is impressive the way that Liberia has decreased its debt, which was run up, of course, during years of conflict, and has had a high rate of GDP growth over these last years. And the government is inclusive, especially for women, which I take great pleasure in noting.
President Sirleaf and I and her cabinet members and the members of government spoke about the work ahead. There is a very clear sense of direction that this government has demonstrated, and, of course, we have to continue to provide the support that Liberia so richly deserves.
Throughout my trip, I have underscored the reality that economic progress depends on good governance, adherence to the rule of law, sound economic policies. And the United States is proud to be contributing $17.5 million for programs to help Liberia ensure that the elections of 2011 are free and fair.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, August 14, 2009Footnote 21
Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered these remarks in Sal, Cape Verde
Prime Minister Maria Pereira Neves. (In Portuguese.)
Secretary Clinton. Well, Mr. Prime Minister, I am absolutely delighted to be here today with you in this beautiful heart of your country. I bring greetings from President Obama, who joins me in commending you, Prime Minister, your government, and the people of Cape Verde, for making your nation a model of democracy and economic progress in Africa.
We are proud to be your partner. We have a relationship, as you said, that dates back to 1818. That's when the first U.S. consulate was established here. But we also have had a very rich relationship since your independence. And today the Prime Minister and I discussed ways in which we can strengthen that partnership, to further enhance economic growth, security, counternarcotics operations, the promotion of democracy, human rights, and good governance in Africa.
I commended the Prime Minister on Cape Verde's economic advances, and of course, its successful implementation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact. Cape Verde was the first of three countries to receive an MCC compact. It has been very successful. The 5-year, $110 million compact, which began in 2005, is improving access to credit, markets, and social services, increasing agricultural productivity, expanding roads and the country's infrastructure, and helping to carry out key policy reforms for sustainable development.
I appreciated the Prime Minister describing to me how the Millennium Challenge process has helped to transform the government of Cape Verde: more accountability, more transparency, more results. And that, as I told the Prime Minister, was music to my ears.
I am also pleased that, as a result of the African Growth and Opportunity Act conference in Nairobi last week, we will work more closely with Cape Verde to fully capitalize on the possibilities of duty free exports to the United States under AGOA. We are confident that continued economic reforms will stimulate growth in tourism, commerce, transport industries, and more.
I thank the Prime Minister for the important role that Cape Verde has played on behalf of regional security in West Africa. This country hosted an ECOWAS meeting on counternarcotics strategy last October. And we will explore more specifically how we can work together to combat narcotics and human trafficking in the Atlantic corridor.
We also support the government's efforts to transition more to a sustainable, clean energy economy. Cape Verde's current energy generation will be insufficient to meet the current needs and projected needs of the growth in the tourism industry. The government recently announced its goal to produce 25 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2011, raising that to 50 percent by 2020. This will not only be good for the environment and the economy of Cape Verde, but will be a contribution to our global efforts against climate change.
Cape Verde is also the only country in all of Africa where women make up more than half of the government's cabinet ministers. And I congratulated, as you might expect, the Prime Minister on achieving that milestone of gender equity and opportunity. I think the United States could actually learn a lot from your example, Mr. Prime Minister.
And we are pleased that our embassy is working in partnership with the government to address the challenge of domestic violence. I told the Prime Minister that, in preparation for my visit to Africa, I have a sheet of paper for each country. And for each country there were many more problems than positives. And Cape Verde, there are so many more positives, and just very few problems. Throughout this trip I have conveyed the message that President Obama and I feel so strongly about. As he said in his historic speech in Ghana, and as I have amplified on this trip across the African continent, “America believes in Africa's promise.” But we know that America does not control the future for any country. We know that, just as the President said, the future of Africa is up to Africans. So the future of this country is up to your countrymen and women.
Few places, however, demonstrate the promise of Africa better than Cape Verde. Some places have certain aspects that can be comparable. But no place has put it all together, with good governance, transparency, accountability, the rule of law, a democracy that is delivering for its people, lifting them out of poverty, putting them now in a category of middle-income countries in the world.
We are proud, Mr. Prime Minister, to be your friend and your partner. And we look forward to an even stronger and closer relationship in the years to come. Thank you for welcoming us so warmly to Cape Verde.
Q. (In Portuguese.)
Secretary Clinton. Thank you very much. And I have already told your foreign minister and your prime minister that I intend to come back to Cape Verde, to see more of the country. I understand that the landscape is different on different islands, and I can't wait to tell my husband about a place that I don't think he has ever been, which is kind of a first, and to try to have the opportunity to come back in a more leisurely way. So, thank you for that kind invitation.
You know, the United States is already cooperating with the government of Cape Verde on police training, offering assistance from the FBI on specific aspects of crime-fighting technology. We are ready to expand and extend our assistance on maritime security, because we share the concern that you have stated. Cape Verde is strategically located: 300 miles from the west African coast, and the Atlantic corridor from the Americas to Africa to Europe. And the good governance and the accomplishments of this country are so remarkable and commendable, that we want to work with you to make sure that you have the security and the safety of your country that you deserve to have.
And that, of course, means a strategy against trafficking of all kinds, of drugs, of people, of guns, illegal immigration, the problems that we are worried about in the world today. So we are going to be discussing further and in more detail with your government what the needs are of your country. And we and others, obviously, stand ready to help you meet those needs.
Remarks by Secretary of State Clinton, September 16, 2009Footnote 22
Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered these remarks in Washington, DC
Secretary Clinton. Please be seated. Thank you very much, Darius Mann, the very able leader of the MCC. And I thought that his remarks were very clear as to how we intend to work with the government and people of Senegal in order to promote sustainable development, increase the foundation for democracy, and enhance transparency and accountability.
On behalf of the Obama Administration and as the chair of the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Board of Directors, I am very pleased to participate in the Signing Ceremony of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact with Senegal. The relationship between our two countries is based on a shared commitment to economic freedom and access to opportunity. Senegal's progress in promoting these principles has given rise to the Compact we sign today.
This is the first MCC compact signed under President Obama and myself, and it reflects what the President and I conveyed during our separate trips to Africa over the summer: We want to be a partner, not a patron; we are not looking for quick fixes, but for lasting solutions that offer long-term progress.
This agreement reflects our vision of how partnerships in the 21st century can move us all forward in cooperation. In this country-driven Compact, the Government of Senegal identified barriers to economic growth and helped to craft solutions to overcome these barriers. A few years ago, President Wade started a national conversation to reduce poverty, ensure food security, and promote commerce. With input from government representatives, NGO leaders, farmers, community activists, members of the business community, the Senegalese people devised a strategy to rebuild their country's transportation and irrigation infrastructure. And it is this Senegalese plan that the United States is working to strengthen by signing this $540 million Compact today.
While this is an agreement between our two countries, it will rely on more than our governments to ensure that it works, lasts, and delivers results for the people of Senegal. MCA-Senegal, the entity accountable for implementing the Compact, will work with representatives from throughout Senegalese society—the public sector, the business community, NGOs, and citizens—to ensure that the route to economic opportunity crosses every doorstep. It is also fitting, as Darius Mann said, that during this season of Ramadan, our attention and actions should focus on long-term solutions for the poor.
Darius Mann has described what this Compact would do for roads, for irrigation systems, but more importantly, for the people who will benefit from these investments. But in order for this to work, so that in five years we can gather again in this room and we can see the results of our investment and our efforts, it will be up to the government and to the people to make sure that we deliver what we have promised.
I told President Wade before we came in that I have a personal commitment to Senegal. And I am very proud that we will be signing this Compact in just a few minutes. But it cannot work without a strong commitment to economic liberalization, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.
So President Wade, I'm going to ask everyone here who has traveled so far from Senegal to be with us to be part of ensuring the success of what we do together. We will be your partners, not just for today, but for years to come, to encourage you to build on this strong foundation, ensure good governance, fight corruption, make every aspect of government policy and operation more transparent and accountable, respect individual rights, and make Senegal the shining example of what a free market democracy can look like in the world. I want to be able to tell people around the world that because of this president's leadership and that of his two esteemed predecessors, if you want to see a country that is on the road to progress and prosperity, go to Senegal.
Please join me now in welcoming my counterpart, Foreign Minister Gadio, to the podium. He will give some remarks before introducing His Excellency, President Wade.
Press Release from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, September 22, 2009Footnote 23
Today the U.S. Government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) welcomed the Constituency for Africa (CFA) at MCC's Washington, D.C. headquarters for a public forum entitled “Discussion of Diversity Recruitment Initiatives in U.S. Government Agencies.” The forum is part of the Ronald H. Brown (RHB) African Affairs Series. The 2009 RHB Series will focus on how Americans of African descent can participate and support the Obama administration's foreign policy towards Africa.
David Saunders, CFA's Program Director, provided welcome remarks at the forum. MCC Malawi Country Director Deidra Fair, USAID Senior Education Advisor Aleta Willaims, Jahleezah Eskew from the Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection at the Peace Corps, and Staci Ali-Ibrahim from the State Department's Office of Outreach and Recruitment also spoke at the forum.
The RHB African Affairs Series is planned and organized by CFA each year in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Legislative Conference. The purpose of the RHB African Affairs Series is: (1) to educate, inform, and engage the American public on critical challenges, issues, and concerns facing Africa; (2) to help link members of the Congressional Black Caucus and their staff to African challenges, issues, and concerns; and (3) to promote a pro-active and sustainable U.S.-Africa foreign policy agenda.
White House Press Release, September 23, 2009Footnote 24
Statement by President Barack Obama on Meeting with Leaders of Top Troop-Contributing Countries
President Obama. Today I met with top troop and police contributing countries to UN missions to express appreciation for their sacrifice, and to exchange views on how to strengthen our efforts to meet common challenges. UN peacekeeping can deliver important results by protecting civilians, helping to rebuild security, and advancing peace around the world. From Sudan to Liberia to Haiti, peacekeeping operations are a cost-effective means for the United States and all nations to share the burden of promoting peace and security.
Over the last ten years, the demands on peacekeeping have grown, and operations have become more complex. It is in all of our interests to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these efforts. To succeed, U.N. missions and contributors need to be better equipped and supported to fulfill ambitious mandates, be it securing territory or protecting civilians from violence, including sexual and gender-based violence.
The United States is ready to do its part. We have met our financial obligations for peacekeeping operations. We seek clear, credible, and achievable peacekeeping mandates in the UN Security Council. We are intensifying diplomatic efforts to support fragile peace processes, including on Darfur, Sudan's North-South conflict, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are improving bilateral efforts to train and equip UN peacekeepers and to help the UN mobilize critical enabling units. We are willing to consider contributing more U.S. civilian police, civilian personnel, and military staff officers to UN missions. We will support proposals to make UN mission planning and administrative and logistics support more effective. And we are reviewing our assistance to countries that host UN peacekeeping operations, such as Haiti.
To draw down UN peacekeeping operations responsibly and end them successfully, all of us must do more to help strengthen security and criminal justice sectors and to build up the capacity of governments. Today's meeting was a productive discussion about identifying and addressing these gaps, and pursuing a program for ongoing reform and the future success of UN peacekeeping.
Remarks by Deputy Treasury Secretary Wolin, September 30, 2009Footnote 25
Secretary Neal Wolin delivered these remarks in Washington, DC at the Corporate Council on Africa's U.S.-Africa Business Summit
Introductory Remarks Omitted
Secretary Wolin. This seventh U.S.-Africa Business Summit convenes at a time of enormous consequence for Africa and for the world. The global financial crisis has proved again, if anyone doubted it, that the nations of the world are inextricably intertwined—north and south, developed and developing.
For African nations, that truth was clear before the financial crisis, as global shifts in supply and demand sent fuel and food prices skyrocketing in 2008.
The financial crisis compounded those economic shocks. As growth rates in developed nations plummeted, demand for African exports fell. So too did the levels of foreign direct investment and remittances. This year, capital inflows are projected to be just half of their 2007 levels.
The slowdown has been particularly dramatic in the continent's largest economies: South Africa, Nigeria, Angola. But the effects have also been severe in the smaller economies—many of which had seen rapid growth in recent years.
The Obama administration recognizes the seriousness of this crisis for Africa's economies. We have responded with vigorous support through the international financial institutions and through bilateral assistance to address the immediate impact of the crisis.
Working with development partners, African governments, too, have taken immediate measures to cushion the impact of the crisis—loosening monetary and fiscal policy, when possible, to stimulate growth.
These steps, along with the emerging global recovery, are likely to lead to a rebound in African growth, with the IMF projecting a healthy 4.1% real GDP growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. Private capital inflows to Africa, after shrinking year-on-year since 2006, are forecasted to expand again next year. The value of exports from Sub-Saharan Africa, which shrank by 38% this year after six years of double-digit growth, is expected to grow by 13% in 2010.
Africa appears to be turning the corner.
The question today is this: looking beyond the global financial crisis, how can African nations best position their economies to partner with developed nations and with private investors to achieve strong, sustainable growth in the years to come?
A part of the answer can be found by looking at what some African nations are already doing in two key areas: improving their investment climates and strengthening their financial sectors. Some of the most impressive examples of progress in these areas come from countries that, only a short time ago, were locked in devastating conflict.
Rwanda, shattered by genocide in 1994, is now in the vanguard of Africa's reform movement.
This year, Rwanda was the first sub-Saharan African country to be named the World Bank's top reformer in the Doing Business indicators, improving from 143rd place to 67th place—the largest one year change ever in the history of the Doing Business index.
Rwanda's practical steps include reforming the processes for starting businesses, registering property, protecting investors, trading across borders, and accessing credit.
In January 2008, a Rwandan Presidential decree replaced a 6% registration fee with a flat rate of about $34 to register property. Registrations now require only a few procedures and an average of 60 days to complete—down from 315 days in 2007.
Such changes, together with prudent macroeconomic policies and a sustained effort to bring women fully into the political and economic life of Rwanda, have had a profound impact. Rwandan GDP growth averaged above 7% from 1997-2006, and has continued its strong performance for the past three years despite global financial conditions.
After decades of civil war, Liberia, too, has made substantial progress in improving its business climate. Through the Liberia Better Business Forum, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has worked closely with the Liberian business community to make it easier to start businesses, obtain licenses and trade across borders. In just the last few weeks, Liberia's legislature passed and President Johnson Sirleaf signed into law a key reform to the Revenue Code.
More progress is needed in Liberia. Other reform priorities require the enactment of additional legislation, such as revising the Investment Code, the Commercial Code and rules governing land tenure. But the efforts thus far are encouraging.
In Nigeria, the bold actions of the new Nigerian Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, provide another example of transformative African leadership—in a country whose history has been deeply marred by corruption and internal conflict.
Just a few months into Sanusi's term, Central Bank audits revealed non-performing loan ratios of 40% at five of the largest Nigerian banks. Acting quickly, Sanusi replaced the banks' management and announced plans to bolster their balance sheets with $2.6 billion in equity— an intervention structured to restore confidence and attract foreign and local investors to the sector.
At the same time, Governor Sanusi has taken steps to strengthen banking regulation and supervision to prevent a recurrence of the problem. And in a recent BBC interview, he spoke of the need for better cross-border banking regulation in Africa as more African banks spread their operations across the continent.
We should not overstate the progress of African nations overall in improving their investment climates and strengthening their financial sectors. Many countries continue to throw roadblocks in the way of investors. Zimbabwe remains a cautionary tale, ranking last on investment climate rankings. And real barriers remain even in the best performing economies.
Those caveats aside, what is particularly significant about the examples of reform I've mentioned here is that they have been conceived and driven by strong African vision and leadership. And these examples represent only a small cross-section of the positive economic reforms being made on the continent today to pave the way for greater transparency, competition, access to financial services, sound regulation and growth.
That, I think, is an excellent sign for Africa's future. Looking beyond the global financial crisis, it is that kind of leadership that marks the path for other African nations to follow. If the efforts underway in Rwanda, Liberia and Nigeria are expanded and replicated, then Africa's future holds great promise.
Of course, a commitment to improving the business climate and the development of financial services is not in itself sufficient for Africa to secure a future of prosperity. Even in countries that are firmly committed to good governance and open investment, challenges remain. Two areas in particular demand tremendous attention: infrastructure and agriculture.
In both these areas, the U.S. stands ready to commit substantial resources and technical assistance. But we look to Africa to lead the way.
Let me start with just one manifestation of the continent's broader infrastructure gap—electricity. Africa has the lowest access to electricity of any region in the world. The high costs of electricity and the lack of a reliable electrical supply are consistently cited as the single biggest concern for private businesses in Africa.
In Nigeria, foreign companies have cited high energy costs as one of the primary reasons for abandoning the country. The potential for power generation in Nigeria is large. But the weak regulatory framework deters independent power producers from making investments.
Even in South Africa, Africa's leading economy and producer of 60% of the continent's electrical capacity, demand now outstrips capacity and the utility has begun rationing. Over the past ten years, the government has sent mixed signals to the private sector with regard to the openness of the power sector to private participation, despite the fact that an estimated $40 billion in investment will be needed to help South Africa satisfy demand.
Addressing the electricity problem is essential not only for business, but for humanitarian purposes. Electricity powers the wells that provide drinking water. It even affects rural healthcare. A Treasury team visited a medical facility in rural Kenya, which has the potential to improve the high rate of maternal and infant mortality in the region. Unfortunately, a lack of electricity prevents the facility from serving patients after dark.
Fixing the problem won't be easy. But it is essential and it is possible—particularly through innovative partnerships between governments, the private sector and multilateral institutions.
In Rwanda, where only 6% of Rwandans have access to electricity, a small U.S. power developer has partnered with the government to develop a $325 million power generation facility to extract methane from the depths of Lake Kivu— scaling up a pilot project financed by the International Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank. The partnership will more than double the electrical generation capacity of the country.
Bilaterally, through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the ExportImport Bank and USAID, the U.S. is making resources and expertise available to support similar projects. From an MCC road-paving project in Cape Verde to an OPIC-financed “tri-fuel” power plant in Togo, the U.S. is already actively engaged in helping African nations meet the infrastructure challenge.
The second area where the U.S. stands ready to assist is agriculture.
For most of Africa's poor, farming is the only source of income and the only path out of poverty. Yet the obstacles that small-hold farmers face are significant: limited access to quality seeds and fertilizer, little or no access to credit or insurance, poor irrigation infrastructure, difficulty in transporting crops from the farm to market for lack of roads.
These challenges have been overcome before. Countries in Asia and Latin America saw dramatic productivity gains as a result of the Green Revolution. In Africa itself more recently, donors and development partners, private businesses and NGOs have managed to improve agricultural productivity for select groups of farmers.
The World Bank recently helped to finance an irrigation project in Mali along the Niger River. The project resulted in a doubling of per-hectare rice yields for 182,000 farmers.
In Mozambique, a U.S.-based NGO provided thousands of small poultry producers with technical support and start up financing. Domestic production now accounts for 50 percent of overall poultry consumption, up from 30 percent in 2005. The average income of poultry producers assisted by the program has risen by $500 annually—in a country where the average annual income in rural areas is only $120.
Maximizing Africa's agricultural potential, however,—waging Africa's own green revolution—will require a new approach that is based on the full commitment of African nations. It will require both the focused dedication of fiscal resources and the implementation of policy reforms to address the full range of challenges farmers face.
Many African governments have already committed themselves to this cause under the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program—the C-A-A-D-P. And when these governments develop comprehensive, country-led strategies, we will stand ready to partner and provide assistance—not for the short term, but for the long term.
We have already pledged the resources to do just that. At the L'Aquila Summit in July, President Obama and other leaders pledged $20 billion over three years to increase agricultural investments in poor countries, with the United States contributing at least $3.5 billion. The United States is already working with African countries and our development partners to put these pledges into action at the country-level.
And just last week in Pittsburgh, President Obama and the other leaders of the G20 called on the World Bank to establish a new multi-donor trust fund to support innovative bilateral and multilateral efforts to improve global nutrition and build sustainable agricultural systems—including programs like those developed through the C-A-A-D-P.
But again—and this is a message that President Obama delivered so eloquently in Accra this summer—where we provide assistance to African nations, we will do so not as a patron, but as a partner.
We take the idea of partnership seriously. Beyond the short-term assistance provided in response to the global financial crisis, we stand behind the commitment made at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, and we are on track to meet our target of $8.7 billion in development assistance for Africa in 2010. Going forward, the Administration has committed to doubling U.S. foreign assistance globally over the next several years.
As we do so, we will look to see a corresponding commitment from our African partners: a commitment to continued reform; to increased transparency and openness; to strong institutions and governance; to creativity and long-term planning; and to establishing an environment that will stimulate private sector investment.
As highlighted this morning, we see many reasons to feel hopeful. Leaders like President Kagame, President Sirleaf, and Central Bank Governor Sanusi among others have begun to lead the way towards essential reforms. And projects already underway demonstrate the possibility of progress in critical sectors like infrastructure and agriculture that hold the key to Africa's growth.
As we look beyond the global financial crisis, those examples of leadership and progress are ultimately far more meaningful than any new commitments of aid from abroad. The United States will stand with Africa as a partner and as a friend, but ultimately, to quote President Obama again, “Africa's future is up to Africans.”
Thank you very much.
