Video: Secretary Clinton's Remarks with Salvadoran Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez

Remarks With El Salvadoran Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez Before Their Meeting


Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
December 9, 2009

SECRETARY CLINTON: I want to welcome Minister Martinez to the State Department. I was very honored to represent President Obama and our country at the inauguration of President Funes. And the United States is very proud to support the development and democracy that is ongoing in El Salvador. We have a number of issues that we will be discussing that we are working on together, but it is a real pleasure to see the minister again and to reaffirm the strong bonds between our countries.

FOREIGN MINISTER MARTINEZ: (Via interpreter) Thank you. It’s an honor for me, Madame Secretary, to be in the same room with you. It was also an honor to have you in El Salvador for the inauguration of President Funes. And in fact, we do have a number of issues that we’re going to be talking about here related to our strategic relationship between the two countries, and these are issues which we hope to continue talking about, including in the future meeting that we’re working on between President Funes and President Obama. So again, it is an honor for me to be here to begin this dialogue with you.