Hillary Clinton: Launch of the U.S.-Brunei English Language Enrichment Project
Secretary
Clinton and Brunei's Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed Bolkiah
Participate in the Launch of the Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment
Project
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Brunei's
Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed Bolkiah participate in the inaugural
launch of the Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN
in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. September 7, 2012. [State Department
photo/ Public Domain]
Inaugural Launch of the U.S.-Brunei English Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Universiti Brunei Darussalam
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
September 7, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning. Selamat Hari Raya.
(Laughter.) I love this custom you have to provide gracious
hospitality. Some people have remarked upon it as being so indicative,
Your Royal Highness, of the graciousness of the people of Brunei.
It
is wonderful to be here today, especially with my friend and colleague.
His Royal Highness has been an excellent partner in so many of the
important initiatives that have been undertaken by His Majesty and the
Government of Brunei and by successive presidents of both parties in my
country. And we are very grateful to you, sir, for your partnership and
leadership, and on a personal basis, your friendship to me and to my
family.
As His Royal Highness said, my husband, daughter, and late
mother had the most wonderful visit to Brunei in 2000. I was unable to
come at that time because I was running for the United States Senate,
but I heard so often of what a fabulous time they had. I have been
trying to get myself here ever since. (Laughter.) And I am so pleased
that I have this opportunity to be with you.
I want to thank His
Majesty for the leadership that he has provided in sponsoring this
program and Brunei’s generous commitment to funding it over the next
five years. I want to thank the Minister of Education. Thank you so
much, sir, for being here. And Vice Chancellor, thank you for not only
your support of this program but the excellent description of what UBD
is doing in entrepreneurship, leadership, environmental programs,
research. That is the future, and I am quite impressed with the progress
that has been made in this university.
And Dr. Morrison, thank
you for your leadership and for the East-West Center, which is our
implementing partner, and to our ambassador, Ambassador Shields, and all
of the ambassadors from throughout the ASEAN countries who are here
with us today. This is a very significant event as we launch this
Brunei-U.S. English Language Project for ASEAN. It is truly
representative of the vision that Brunei brings to this project, and it
is because of the excellent partnership between UBD and East-West
Center. It is a tribute also to ASEAN and its centrality and unity and
commitment to providing better futures for the young people of this
dynamic, vital region.
In a few weeks, this university will
welcome government officials and teacher trainers from across ASEAN.
Over the course of three months, they will work together on an intensive
training program to improve their English and to develop their
professional skills. After their time here, the participants will travel
to the East-West Center in Hawaii to continue that training.
We believe that learning English is a valuable tool in the 21st
century, especially here in Southeast Asia. Scientists collaborate in
English. Schools and universities often share information and ideas in
English. International business and commerce rely on English. And it is
the operational language for ASEAN, which makes it essential for
diplomacy and regional cooperation.
Now, this is not in any way to
undermine the importance of national and local languages, which are
rich in meaning and culture and history. But speaking English can help
foster cross-cultural friendships and partnerships, because when people
from different countries are able to speak the same language, they can
better understand each other, avoid misunderstandings and
miscalculations, and try to find ways to collaborate to solve common
problems. They can exchange ideas more easily about local, regional, and
global trends and learn more on a personal level about each other’s
lives and circumstances.
So this program is about more than
learning a language. It’s about building ties of friendship, learning,
cooperation, and partnership among the peoples of this diverse region.
It’s about making ASEAN an even more effective and active organization.
And it’s about strengthening the relationships people-to-people between
ASEAN and the United States.
We highly value our relationship with
the Government and people of Brunei, and it is so in keeping with what
Brunei envisions as the kind of peaceful, prosperous future that it
hopes for the region that it would assume the responsibility for this
program and the funding. As Brunei assumes the chairmanship of ASEAN
next year, it is having this hallmark program as one of the initiatives
that speaks so clearly about the priorities that Brunei will bring to
that chairmanship.
In addition to the new English Enrichment
Project, Brunei and the United States will send highly qualified English
language instructors out to teach in ASEAN countries. As I have now
traveled to every ASEAN country, it’s been the most common request from
governments – can you help us learn English? – from presidents and prime
ministers and foreign ministers and ambassadors. And now we are able to
respond that with the generosity and leadership of Brunei, we can help
do so.
All of this builds on the English language teaching and
exchange programs the United States already offers for students as young
as 14 throughout Southeast Asia. We believe investing in young people
is good for ASEAN and the Asia Pacific, good for the United States, and
especially good for the shared future that these young people will
approach.
So let me congratulate all the students in the audience.
Let me also congratulate this university for the quality of education –
a global education – that you are offering to the students here. I am
delighted that you have exchange students from the United States. I hope
that you will have even more in the future. And I hope that more
students from Brunei will study in the United States. I just met at our
Embassy the 100th student from Brunei to get a visa to study
in the United States. So we would love to have more students as well and
to enhance this exchange.
So thank you to all who have made this
dream a reality. I look forward to hearing reports about how it
progresses, the difference it’s making, the results that we are seeing.
And I also look forward to many more years of friendship and partnership
between the United States and ASEAN and in particular between the
United States and Brunei.
Your Royal Highness, thank you very much. (Applause.)
