Hillary Clinton's Bilaterals Today

Remarks With Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Before Their Meeting

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

May 21, 2009

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SECRETARY CLINTON: This is a particular pleasure and honor for me to welcome the President here. We will be having a working meeting, and then he will be meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office. But Tanzania is a country that has made so much progress and has an extraordinary potential that we wish to partner with and assist in every way possible.
I myself have had a wonderful visit to your country, Mr. President. And I am delighted that I am the Secretary of State at this moment and have this chance to commit our efforts to working closely with you and to commend you on your leadership.
PRESIDENT KIKWETE: Madame Secretary, I thank you for the opportunity to meet. I thank you for – I thank President Obama for the invitation. Well, I’m here to reaffirm our commitment for continued cooperation and friendship. We have excellent relations on a political level, a bilateral level. We see eye-to-eye on many international issues. We work together at the multilateral level. I’m here to give you that assurance for continued cooperation efforts.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT KIKWETE: Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Welcome, Mr. President. Thank you all very much.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, should Sri Lanka get an IMF loan (inaudible)? Has your thinking changed (inaudible)?
SECRETARY CLINTON: We’re working with the Sri Lankan Government. I spoke with the president earlier today, and we discussed a number of the efforts that his government wanted to take, as well as the international community, to assist Sri Lanka in the work that lies ahead that is very important for the healing and reconciliation in the nation. And I’ve pledged our support, and we’ll continue to follow closely what is happening there.
Thank you.

Remarks With Angolan Minister of External Relations Ansuncao Afonso dos Anjos Before Their Meeting

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

May 21, 2009

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SECRETARY CLINTON: I am very pleased to welcome the foreign minister of Angola. We are impressed by the progress that Angola has made, and we look forward to a very close and deep coordination and working relationship that will enable both of our countries to have a greater understanding and a commitment to a better future.
MINISTER DOS ANJOS: I apologize, I am speaking Portuguese, because my English is bad, bad, bad. Sorry. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Don’t worry about it.
MINISTER DOS ANJOS: (Via interpreter) It’s a great, great honor for me to be here in the United States and to bring a message, a message of peace and a message of willingness to cooperate, to deepen our relations, to be here and ask for help from the United States to bring to Angola, help that the United States can bring to Angola because of the experience that the United States has to help Angola in its development for the future.
And we come here at this precise moment as a result of the exchange of letters between our presidents, President Obama and President Dos Santos, and their exchange of willingness to strengthen our overall relations and our relations in every sector that brings our countries together.
And we come here to meet with U.S. Government officials, with American public opinion, and also to bring information to all the parties, information about aliquid novo, aliquid novo being a new Angola, a more tolerant Angola, democratic Angola, a participating Angola, Angola who wants to be part of the African continent to help solve problems in Africa, to be a partner with other countries, to be prosperous and to grow. And therefore, to reach this goal, we are now going to work with the Secretary of State.
And therefore, the reason is that the American people, side by side with the Angolan people, will work together for the reconstruction of Angola. This is the moment to do it because the American people – the experience that it has accumulated and the ability, the capacity, the skills that we find in this country, will be of great help for the Angolan people to put together what’s necessary to, as our own president say, make living in Angola a pleasant experience, a fulfilling experience.
(In English) Thank you very, very much.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.