Earlier in the week, we saw the dedication of the new embassy compound in Sarajevo. True to form, Secretary Clinton held similar meet-and-greets with embassy staff and families both in Belgrade and in Pristina. Here are her remarks at those events.
Secretary Clinton Meets with Embassy Belgrade Staff and Their Families
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateHyatt Regency BelgradeBelgrade, SerbiaOctober 13, 2010Oh, it is wonderful seeing you, and I want to echo all the remarks of the Ambassador about the extraordinary work that you have done over the last years. And it means a great deal to the United States, to me personally, and to the people of our two countries that you are personally helping to forge a new chapter in our bilateral relationship.
I’m delighted to be starting my day off by seeing all of you and being able to extend my appreciation. I want to thank the Ambassador for her leadership here, your DCM, and all of you for not only what you do every day but for what you’ve done in preparation and execution of my visit and, of course, of Vice President Biden’s last year.
This is such an important time for the Balkans, and in our estimation, the changes that have occurred are really seminal; they mark such a turning point, but it is still not fully determined how this will play out. Serbia and Kosovo are working on a direct dialogue. We just had another election in Bosnia-Herzegovina which brought some hope for better cooperation although still a difficult challenge. Five countries in the region are taking steps to achieve full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community, and we believe that these and other steps promote our shared goals of stability and prosperity throughout the region.
And the United States is committed to helping to advance these goals and assisting these countries as they move forward. Your work with the Government of Serbia and its civil society organizations is helping to strengthen local institutions. I had an excellent visit with a number of the civil society representatives last night that many of you helped to arrange, and it really gave me more insight into the progress but still the remaining challenges that have to be dealt with.
Our military-to-military cooperation is helping to pave the way for Serbia to increase its contributions to global peacekeeping efforts, and the extended 10-year visa eligibility now makes it easier for Serbians to travel to the United States and to form lasting bonds with our people as well.
I know there’s a lot of work ahead, but I’m kind of a “glass is half full” person. I think we look at where we have come from, and yes, there is a lot ahead of us, but we should be proud of the progress that has been made here in Serbia over the last 10 years.
Just a decade ago, Serbia was still making the transition to a democratically elected government and we were working to restore diplomatic relations between our two countries. In fact, it was just 10 years ago this week that a small group of Americans and local staff members met here at this hotel to begin planning the reopening of U.S. Embassy Belgrade. A number of the local staff who helped reopen the Embassy are here today, so I’d like you to raise your hand – all of you who were here working for this Embassy 10 years ago – so I can see you and thank you very much for those 10 years of service that led to this day.
I think that there is a big agenda on the economic development front that we are going to be pursuing, and I’m excited that we’ve broken ground on a new Embassy compound, where we’ll be able to set the gold standard for diplomatic missions in Serbia. And it will be able to house our various aspects of the mission in one place, so there’ll be a lot of coordination and cooperation. It will set a high standard for energy efficient technology and the green standard for U.S. embassies around the world. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing it finished the summer of 2012, but probably not as much as you are.
But every one of you – Foreign Service, Civil Service, representatives of other U.S. Government agencies, local staff – your families have sacrificed a great deal to advance our work over the past 10 years. Some of you may have been here when the Embassy was attacked two years ago. How many of you were here for that? And you had to evacuate your families or had to be evacuated yourselves. Some of you chose to stay even through tough and uncertain times.
Whatever your role in whatever capacity, I want to thank each of you for the hours you’ve put in and the spirit that you bring to your work each day. I am very impressed by what this government is attempting to do, by the vision that President Tadic has of what is possible for Serbia in the future. We don’t have a vote as the United States in the European Union, but if I did have a vote, I’d vote today to begin the accession process, because I think it will be to Serbia’s great advantage to be integrated into Europe, to be a member of the European Union. Serbia has so much to contribute. And I’m personally going to be lobbying members of the EU when I see them in Brussels tonight to carry the message that Serbia is ready and Serbia should not be kept waiting.
And I know too when someone like me comes, it just adds so much extra work. I didn’t expect them to shut down the city – (laughter) – but I’m sure that’s made it more complicated to get around. But you all deserve to take a deep breath and a sigh of relief when I finally take off from the airport. But I am really pleased to have this chance to personally express our gratitude to you. I know how important the work that you do every day is. I mean, I can come in, a Secretary of State can come in, a Vice President can come in, but it’s the day-to-day connections that really matter that build the strong bonds between our people. And I want to see those bonds strengthened and deepened, and I want the relationship between our governments to grow and I want to see Serbia play a larger and larger role in regional and global affairs. And I think with your help, we can contribute to making that happen. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
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Secretary Clinton Meets with Embassy Pristina Staff and Their Families
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateGrand HotelPristina, KosovoOctober 13, 2010Well, it is wonderful visiting the world’s youngest country and meeting, as the Ambassador just said, one of our nation’s youngest and most dynamic embassy teams. I am delighted to have this opportunity to come here. I came in part to support your work, in part to encourage the government and people of Kosovo, and in part to see the statue of my husband. (Laughter and applause.)
I want to thank the Ambassador, and Chris, you’re doing a great job here with your leadership, and your DCM, Michael Murphy, who is also doing an excellent job leading this mission here in Kosovo. And I too want to acknowledge the special guests, the number of the American troops who are serving the KFOR. KFOR is NATO’s second-largest mission behind Afghanistan, and you’ve done such an extraordinary job. I’m proud of the role that the United States troops have played. I’m particularly pleased to welcome the (inaudible) National Guard, which is one of the largest National Guards in the United States, and to thank you for your service.
I just participated in an excellent discussion with some of this country’s young people. And before that, the Ambassador and I visited with some of the newly elected mayors of the Serbian majority municipality, and before that, with the leadership of the country – the acting president, the prime minister, the foreign minister, and others. And in each case, you probably entered ears burning because the work that you do was recognized. I was thanked for the visit and the (inaudible) – what you do for diplomacy and what you do for development.
So I want to thank everyone who’s a part of Embassy Pristina and tell you that your work is being acknowledged, and I am the one who was thanked when indeed each and every one of you should be thanked for everything you’ve done to help set Kosovo on the path toward integration into the Euro-Atlantic community, a real commitment to the growth of democratic institutions and improvement in the economy and service to this (inaudible) people of this country.
Now, we are going to be working very hard with our EU partners to support a direct dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade and to set the stage for a new relationship between Kosovo and Serbia. I thank you for your long hours that you have put in, both our civilians and our military members, because you have demonstrated unequivocally that the United States is Kosovo’s closest friend and ally, and that our voice will continue to advocate for Kosovo’s recognition. Both Beth Sreenan and Merita Stublla-Emini have been a driving force, encouraging Kosovo to strengthen the rule of law.
So where are Beth and Merita? Where are Beth and Merita? There they are. I want to thank you both. For the last year, the government has passed reforms to modernize the court system and create a professional, nonpolitical corps of judges. That’s a very important step to support this young democracy. Another of our priorities is to urge citizens to embrace Kosovo’s diversity as one of its core strengths. Jose Garzon, Jeton Cana, and Fred Boll have helped persuade Kosovo Serbs of the south to engage in legitimate Kosovo institutions and establish municipalities. So where are Jose, Jeton, and Fred? Where are they? Oh, thank you. (Applause.)
The country has also made some notable progress in combating human trafficking, and I would like to thank Angelica Maviki and Laura Salihu for working with the Government of Kosovo to develop and implement an anti-trafficking strategy, which is really an anti-slavery strategy. So where are they? Let me thank them for their work. (Applause.)
I would like to thank our Public Affairs officer, Emilia Puma, for leading the Embassy’s first foray into (inaudible). (Applause.) I am a very big believer in these new forms of communication. Getting people to organize, to talk to each other, discuss an issue, search for a solution (inaudible) American interests and certainly our diplomatic efforts.
Now, a lot has changed in the last year, and I don’t just mean the invention of Twitter or Facebook. When we first opened the U.S. office in Pristina in 1999, it employed just a few intrepid Americans and a crew of dedicated local staff who worked around the clock to press for peace in Kosovo. Today, we have more than 400 people working at our Embassy. And you could not have come this far without our excellent locally engaged staff, and I’d like all of our Kosovo staff to raise your hand so that we can thank each and every one of you. (Applause.) We could not do this work without your expertise and experience. Many of you have been with us for 10 years or even more, and I’m very grateful for your commitment.
Now, I know that there is another change coming this summer that will be further progress. And that is that for years, we did not allow children to accompany their parents here to this post. It was, frankly, just too dangerous. But next year, families with children will arrive at post for the first time, and that is tangible proof of the progress that Kosovo has made. And I, for one, am delighted that in the youngest nation in Europe, you’ll have some young Americans here (inaudible). (Applause.)
So I thank you for what you do every day, but I know that extra work goes into a visit like mine. It’s not easy preparing everything that we have to do. So I doubly thank you for the effort you made for this very successful trip of mine. So Kosovo is a place where America’s interests, America’s values, and America’s hope for the future all intersect. We have such a great opportunity to see our work make a difference in people’s lives. And so I thank you. I thank you for your commitment to our relationship with the people of Kosovo.
I was asked at the town hall interview just now what I thought, and I told the young people who were there that I am very optimistic about Kosovo, but I’m also a realist. I know it’s going to take work. There is still a lot to be done. Important changes don’t happen quickly, whether it’s in the life of a person or the life of a nation. But Kosovo is on the right track and the United States will do everything we can to be your partner and your friend as you continue down this track toward a better future.
So I look forward to continuing to work with you, with the government and people of Kosovo, and I am absolutely confident that we will see many positive changes in the years to come. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause.)
