When Secretary Clinton met with staff and families at Embassy Rabat
today, she also participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new
embassy.
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton participates in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Rabat
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton participates in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Rabat
Meeting With Embassy Staff and Families
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Rabat, Morocco
February 26, 2012
Thank
you. Thank you, Sam. That was really lovely. Thank you, Sylvia. Well, I
don’t need to tell you how blessed you are here at Embassy Rabat and
across Morocco to have such a dynamic duo as Sam and Sylvia. I want to
personally thank them in front of their Embassy family, including the
cute children, Sylvia, because they’ve brought so much enthusiasm and
energy to representing our country. Thank you very much, Ambassador, and
thank you, Sylvia, for all you do. (Applause.)
And the Ambassador
is right. I wanted to come and thank you personally when I was last in
Morocco as Secretary of State in ’09. I didn’t get to Rabat, and I
missed having this opportunity, so I did not want to forego it today.
And I also wanted to let you know I’m well aware of how much is asked of
you, particularly this last year, whether you worked as election
monitors or you got ready for the construction of a new embassy whose
ground we will break in a very short time from now, or just, every day,
handle the myriad of tasks that you are responsible for. We see the
results of your hard work.
In the last eight months, the Moroccan
people have made their voices heard through a constitutional referendum
and an unprecedented parliamentary election. And the United States
friendship with Morocco that dates back to 1777 – I want all the young
people to know that Morocco was the very first country that recognized
us before we really won our revolutionary war. We were just beginning
it, and Morocco believed in us and said, “We’re with you,” and we’ve had
that kind of partnership ever since.
I’m excited about the
groundbreaking of the new Embassy. It will finally bring together our
Foreign Service and development professionals under one roof. That’s
part of our – what’s called QDDR, the Quadrennial Diplomacy and
Development Review, where we have to maximize the impact of U.S.
Government efforts. We have the best diplomats, the best development
experts in the world, and we need to multiply the impact of each. And
having everyone under one roof will help us do that.
I also want
to thank the Peace Corps volunteers, because wherever I go, they always
can bring a crowd of enthusiasm. (Applause.) When in doubt, bring on the
Peace Corps and – (laughter) – we’ll get the energy going. And I’m also
very much aware that we could not do the work that we do here without
the locally employed staff, all of the Moroccans who have served with us
and done so much for our relationship. (Applause.)
In fact,
Ambassador, I know from many years, starting back in the 1990s when I
would travel alone or travel with my husband when he was president that
presidents come and go, and certainly secretaries and ambassadors come
and go, but the locally employed staff is here. And they remember and
they help and they greet every new representative from the United States
Government with the kind of background and experience that we need.
This
is an exciting time to be serving in Morocco. It’s an exciting time to
be representing the United States. It’s also, I think it’s fair to say,
quite a challenging time. But if we stick to our values of democracy and
freedom, of human rights, of women’s rights, of the kind of protections
that are now enshrined in the constitution of this country, then we
will be able to help not only Moroccans who are doing quite well, but
using Morocco as an example, reach out to the country that I was in
yesterday, Tunisia, or Algeria or Libya, countries that are also seeking
their own new democratic future. And then we have to work to make sure
democracy delivers jobs and opportunity for the hardworking people of
the Maghreb.
So I appreciate greatly everything you have done and
are doing. I think it’s fair to promise you that the rollercoaster ride
is not over. There will be a lot more ahead of us. But I think we are
living through such a consequential time in world history, and nowhere
more so than in this region. So again, thank you, and what I would like
to do is first maybe go over and take a picture with the children, if I
could, because I love being – I don’t tell my daughter, but I would love
to be a grandmother. (Laughter.) Anyway, don’t tell her. So I will go
and get our picture with the children – they’ve been so patient – and
then I’ll shake as many hands as I can before we go on to the
groundbreaking.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
She
always gets a big response when she mentions the Peace Corps. Well, she
is on her way home now, and Mme. Secretary do not think for a moment
that we have not been watching. We are, and we appreciate that you have
gone for two weeks straight without a weekend off. You are amazing!
Thank you for all the personal sacrifices you make to serve our country.
We love you!
