Thank you very much, Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, who has been an
absolutely essential leader on behalf of our policies in Africa and in
particular with respect to South Sudan. And I want publicly to thank him
for all of his work.
President Kiir, it is an honor to welcome you here as a head of state
along with your ministers and distinguished delegation. I also wish to
thank our co-hosts: the United Kingdom, Norway and Turkey; the European
Union, the African Union, the United Nations, and the World Bank; the
International Finance Corporation, the Corporate Council on Africa, and
InterAction. I also want to acknowledge and thank Dr. Raj Shah and
USAID. They are doing absolutely important work on the ground, and we
thank them for their many contributions.
As Johnnie said, South Sudan’s quest for peace and dignity has
resonated around the world and in the hearts of the American people. In
fact, American families sheltered and raised children fleeing from war.
Our churches and our NGOs provided instrumental assistance, both on the
ground and to those who had to leave their beloved country. Lawmakers
like Senators Kerry and Lugar, Representatives Smith, Payne, Wolf, and
Capuano, along with Sheila Jackson Lee, who is here with us today, made
your cause their own. We welcome them and all of you who have made the
long journey literally from South Sudan to be here with us, but also
those of you who have made the long journey over so many years to help
end a war and now to see a new state born.
And on July 9th, we celebrated as the world’s newest country came
into being. That is one part of the story. What we do today is critical
if that story is to have a happy ending. We meet to help the leadership
and the people of South Sudan chart their future. Now, President Kiir
has laid out an ambitious vision for development, and I was briefed on
the speech that he gave to you just a short while ago. And those are
plans that we fully support. But I want this morning to focus on how the
United States and the international community can partner with South
Sudan to help create the conditions that make successful development
possible.
What are those conditions? Well, first and foremost, real peace and
security; an end to war; the opportunity to make it possible for
children to envision a different future; transparency and accountability
that will give not only reassurance to the international community, but
most importantly to the people themselves – they have scarified and
lost so much, and now they want to be part of helping to build their new
country; policies that favor broad, inclusive, sustainable growth, and
that commitment to inclusiveness is key. Everyone must feel that he or
she has a stake in this future.
Now, the challenges ahead are formidable. You’re here because you’re
interested, you’re committed, but I assume you’re also knowledgeable.
You know there are great opportunities but some daunting obstacles.
South Sudan is one of the least developed nations on earth. It faces a
difficult, mutually dependent relationship with its northern neighbor.
It is confronting continued violence in that border region; deficits in
health, education, infrastructure, governance, the rule of law; ethnic
tensions; a combustible mix of extreme poverty, natural wealth, and
fragile institutions. And I would add also not yet as much of a change
in attitude, an evolution in people’s minds and hearts that they must
move forward and they must reach out and make sure that they are working
with others.
So a great deal needs to be done to translate the promise of
independence into concrete improvements. Well, first, we must continue
our work together to maintain peace and security, which are
preconditions for successful development anywhere. While South Sudan and
Sudan have become separate states, their futures remain inextricably
linked. South Sudan’s ability to attract and keep trade and investment
depends on greater security on both sides of its northern border. Right
now, conflicts in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan threaten to spill into
South Sudan. These issues must be resolved.
Reconciliation, agreements, negotiations between former adversaries
are difficult. We’ve seen it all over the world. But we know what a
difference it can make, and we know that it’s essential if societies
expect to move forward. Sometimes when you have been at war for so long
and you have suffered so much, it’s hard – mentally, psychologically,
emotionally – to leave war behind and to say to oneself, to one’s
family, and one’s neighbors, “Now let us build what we were fighting
for.” Now, you cannot do this work without a willing partner in
Khartoum. But the United States, our Troika partners, Norway and the UK,
the African Union, which has done absolutely fabulous work in this
arena, and many others stand ready to help preserve and finalize a
hard-won peace.
Within its own borders, South Sudan’s Government must complete the
transition from armed struggle to nation building. President Kiir has
rightly made it a priority to resolve longstanding local conflicts. And
the United States will continue to support the new UN Mission’s
important work to preserve peace, safeguard human rights, and protect
civilians.
Second, we must help South Sudan live up to President Kiir’s pledge
to build strong institutions, root out corruption, and promote
transparent and accountable governance – all of which are critical
building blocks on the path to prosperity. His five-point plan clearly
articulates for the South Sudanese people how the government plans to
address their needs. That’s a good start, but, of course, as we say, the
proof is in the pudding. What matters most is whether the government
follows through on it.
And nowhere will the transparency and accountability that President
Kiir has promised be more important than in managing South Sudan’s
abundant natural resources. We know that it will either help your
country finance its own path out of poverty, or you will fall prey to
the natural resource curse, which will enrich a small elite, outside
interests, corporations, and countries, and leave your people hardly
better off then when you started.
I stress this point because all we have to do is look around the
world to see the two alternative visions. Norway, which has been such a
strong supporter of South Sudan’s independence, shows a way forward, how
to put natural resources that were there by the grace of God into a
trust fund that will support the needs of the Norwegian people for
generations to come. But in Africa, Botswana also provides an example.
Botswana put its diamonds wealth into a trust fund mechanism, and the
money that was thrown off of that has paved the roads, provided clean
drinking water, built schools. You can go to Botswana today and you can
drive from nearly any direction into Botswana and immediately see the
difference.
So the choice is clear, and I am pleased that South Sudan’s
legislature is already considering stronger auditing and anticorruption
measures. And through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
and the State Department’s Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative,
friends of South Sudan are actively engaged in helping the government
manage its oil sector responsibly.
I hope that when we, over the next years, go to South Sudan, we will
see the roads built, the schools built, the clean water provided, the
infrastructure. And every single man, woman, and child will be able to
say that is because we had good leaders; we had leaders who cared about
the people of South Sudan. (Applause.)
Third, all of these efforts contribute to the larger project of
helping South Sudan create an economic environment that enables growth,
attracts investment, empowers businessmen and women.
Now, we know that aid alone is not enough. Private enterprise must be
there to create jobs for the people. Now, USAID and others are working
with South Sudan on reforms that will help create that business climate
that will attract and keep investors and businesses. What does that
include? Transparent budgeting and tax collection, land ownership
reforms, modernizing the health care systems. Just last week, at South
Sudan’s request, the United States Government modified licensing
policies to allow U.S. investment in the South Sudanese oil sector –
even when this involves the transshipment of goods through Sudan. We are
also working to bring to bear two of the most effective tools we have
to support private sector-led growth – the African Growth and
Opportunity Act and the Overseas Private Sector Investment Corporation.
As we help South Sudan diversify its economy, we are especially
focused on agriculture. Although its soil is fertile enough to be one of
Africa’s breadbaskets, most of South Sudan’s food is imported. USAID
has launched a major set of agricultural initiatives to change
that—including a groundbreaking effort to provide loans to South Sudan’s
farmers. We also seek to partner with the private sector, which can
provide advanced seeds and other technology that will help South Sudan’s
farmer increase their yields.
Fourth, none of these measures will be effective unless all elements
of society participate in development, including underserved
communities, ethnic and religious minorities, returning refugees, young
people, political opponents, and women. And this starts with drafting a
constitution that forever enshrines the rights of all people.
History teaches that failing to serve communities at the peripheries
leads to instability. Two-thirds of South Sudanese are below the age of
thirty, and the government will have to open up the political space to
allow a young and diverse population to take part in civil society, a
free press, and genuine political competition.
South Sudan’s Government also understands that it must do more to
ensure women’s full participation at every level of society. The father
of South Sudan, Dr. John Garang, called women the “marginalized of the
marginalized.” Well, we want to help South Sudan change that, and we are
tackling this challenge from different angles. The United States is
including South Sudan in our African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program.
Earlier this week, we co-hosted a South Sudan Gender Symposium—and I am
delighted that many South Sudanese women are also with us today.
(Applause.) And the United States will be making South Sudan a focus in
the implementation of our forthcoming U.S. National Action Plan on
Women, Peace, and Security.
Finally, as we help South Sudan plan for its future, its
international supporters must think carefully about how we provide help
to a government still developing the capacity to receive it. We cannot
simply work in parallel. We must work together. And by doing so, we will
help support these courageous, determined people.
Yes, the work ahead is not quick nor easy. But neither was winning
independence. South Sudan defied the odds simply by being born. There
was recently some stories about what happened to the tiniest of babies –
I mean less than a pound, some as small as 10 ounces – that were born
in the United States some years ago when we had the technology to keep
them alive. Before that, there was no hope; nothing could be done. They
would either die, or, if they survived, they would not develop fully.
Well, we just saw pictures of 15, 18, 19 year-olds who not only survived
but thrived.
Well, South Sudan survived by being born, but it does need intensive
care. And it needs intensive care from all of us. (Applause.) And it
needs all of those developmental milestones along the way to be reached.
And the birth of a new country, like the birth of a child, offers a
promise of a new beginning. It reminds us of everything that is possible
and the potential that awaits. It gives us a chance to reflect on the
virtues that are every bit as important in a young republic as they were
just for the struggle to be born.
Well, I’m betting on South Sudan, and I don’t like to lose bets.
(Laughter and applause.) I don’t make big bets, but I don’t like to lose
any bet. And so are all of the friends and partners and supporters and
literally millions more who are in your corner all over the world. So we
will work with you, we will stand with you, we will support you. We
have come together in the past to deal with the tragedy of decades of
war. Today we have a chance to raise up the first generation of South
Sudanese who have not known and, God willing, never will know war. So
let us work together to ensure that every man, woman, and child in this
new country lives up to his or her God-given potential. That is our
pledge and our promise. Thank you all. (Applause.)
