Showing posts with label U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. Show all posts

Monday, July 19, 2010

Video: Secretary Clinton Opening Remarks at U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue



Opening Remarks at U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue


Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Foreign Ministry, Islamabad, , Pakistan
July 19, 2010


FOREIGN MINISTER QURESHI: Secretary Clinton, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. It is a pleasure to welcome Secretary Clinton to Pakistan once again. We are delighted to have you back in our midst to carry forward the wide-ranging agenda that we have been pursuing together in recent months. I also extend a warm welcome to other distinguished members of the U.S. delegation.
Those of us who traveled to Washington last March for the first round of this upgraded Strategic Dialogue remain overwhelmed by the exceptional warmth and the gracious hospitality accorded to us. We hope we can reciprocate in some small measure while you are in Pakistan. We are joined here by many distinguished colleagues from various ministries and institutions in Pakistan. I thank them for their presence and for their vital contributions to this process.
Madam Secretary, today is an important day in the history of Pakistan-U.S. relations, which entered a new phase with the commencement of the Strategic Dialogue at the level of the Secretary of State and foreign minister. With this enterprise, we committed to work together for building a stable, broad-based, and enduring partnership between Pakistan and the United States on the basis of shared democratic values, mutual trust, and mutual respect.
We concurred that such a partnership is in the best interest of the peoples of Pakistan and the United States. And it’s critical for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and beyond. We identified a whole range of areas for intensified collaboration with the express intent of further deepening and broadening the multifaceted ties between our two countries. I have no hesitation in stating that this would not have been possible without your strong, personal belief, Madam Secretary, in the importance and vast potential of the Pakistan-U.S. partnership.
The time and energy that you have invested in it has made this day possible. The consistent progress that we have been able to make thus far owes largely to your qualitative engagement with this process. On behalf of the government and people of Pakistan and on my own behalf, I take this opportunity to sincerely commend your vision, your commitment, and your leadership. And I assure you that we, on our part, remain equally committed to making this enterprise a resounding success.
Madam Secretary, we agreed at Washington that our sectoral dialogue process would encompass economy and trade, energy, defense, security, strategic stability and nonproliferation, law enforcement and counterterrorism, science and technology, education, agriculture, water, health and communications, and public diplomacy. It is gratifying that the first of these sectoral track meetings have since taken place.
City officials and experts on both sides have had preliminary discussions on areas of mutual collaboration and ways and means of achieving agreed outcomes. They have worked hard and done a fine job. I’m encouraged by the positive interaction in this sectoral dialogue and a clear sense of direction discernable in each of the identified areas. In our work during the day, we will have the opportunity to review in more detail the ground covered so far and to exchange views on the next steps.
I just wish to emphasize at this point that all these sectors are of fundamental importance to the day-to-day lives of the people of Pakistan. And they are, therefore, watching this dialogue with great expectations. You had rightly underlined in Washington last March that we cannot be satisfied with talking alone. As you stress the importance of translating our partnership into a lasting progress for the millions who live in cities and villages far from the halls of power and whose lives will be shaped by our actions, I could not agree more.
Indeed, the betterment of the lives of the people has been and must remain the primary motivation for all our efforts. Building a people-centered relationship must remain our foremost priority. It is in this spirit that we have been engaging in the sectoral discussion. We hope that Pakistan Government’s endeavors in these crucial sectors will be meaningfully reinforced through this process. We hope that substantive progress will be made on critical matters such as providing enhanced market access, strengthening Pakistan’s counterterrorism capacity, and allowing nondiscriminatory access to energy resources and advanced technology. We hope we will be able to achieve overall results that help expand economic opportunities in Pakistan and show real benefits of this relationship to our people. Nothing is more important than such vindication in the eyes of the people.
Madam Secretary, this is a transformational phase in our bilateral relations. Together, Pakistan and the United States are working to transform this longstanding cooperative relationship into a strong, comprehensive, and sustainable partnership of mutual benefit. The vision of this partnership is shaped by the mutual desire of our leaders, President Zardari and President Obama, for a richer relationship at the government-to-government, business-to-business, and people-to-people levels. This vision is rooted in the shared history of friendship and alliance between Pakistan and the United States over the past 60 years, which has withstood the test of times and has remarkably endured.
This vision is driven by our convergent interests in the present day, including fighting between menace of extremism and terrorism, stabilizing and reconstructing Afghanistan, sustaining dialogue with India, and finding a just solution of the Kashmir dispute linking the economic potential of South and Central Asia, curbing nuclear proliferation, and advancing progress and prosperity in the region and beyond. Essentially, in today’s globalized environment, an interconnectedness building such a partnership between our two nations is essential to building of a safer world and carving a common future of hope and optimism.
Madam Secretary, this is a period of profound transformation in Pakistan as well. We have political transformation underway with deepening democracy, increasingly empowered parliament, an active opposition, an independent judiciary, a free media, and a vibrant civil society. We have economic transformation underway with notable growth rate despite continuing global recession, growing inflow of remittances, tighter fiscal discipline, and expanding agricultural, commercial, and industrial base.
We have societal transformation underway with a rising demographic profile, rapid urbanization, increasing women empowerment, and a growing culture of human rights. We have ideological transformation underway with the emergence of a strong, national consensus against the dark forces propagating falsehoods in the name of our noble faith and perpetrating senseless crimes against our innocent citizens and the security personnel. Obviously, such far-reaching transformation brings in its wakes multiple challenges. But we are determined to deal with these challenges effectively and make sure that this transformation continues to forge ahead and concludes successfully.
We must do so because this transformation is consistent with Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan as a democratic, modern, progressive, and Islamic state. Because it is in line with our leader Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s conception of Pakistani society, because it helps us fortify our efforts in pursuit of our two core national priorities – peace and development. And finally, because it makes Pakistan a natural partner, indeed an indispensible ally of the international community. I cannot stress enough that the world has a vital stake in the success of our efforts.
Madam Secretary, in Washington, while launching this elevated Strategic Dialogue on March the 24th, you had heralded the dawn of a new day in our old and tested relationship. I’m happy to affirm that we are steadily moving forward in this new phase. As we go further, it will be crucial for us to remain sensitive and responsive to each other’s concerns and interests, make sure that our dialogue process is result-oriented, ensure that it makes a tangible contribution to peace and prosperity in the region, and continue to elicit stronger public support in both countries for the expanded partnership. It will be equally essential to build a robust architecture of strategic dialogue that helps advance our mutually shared goals at every level and at every juncture.
We must also develop and follow a roadmap for future with specific goals and agreed timelines. We must be able to showcase the progress made in building a truly strategic partnership which President Obama – when President Obama visits the region later this year. It is with these opening points that we will go into deeper deliberations and work for productive results.
Before I conclude, allow me to once again express how pleased we are to have you, Secretary Clinton, visiting Pakistan and for chairing this session. It is now my great privilege to invite Secretary Clinton to make her opening remarks. Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Minister Qureshi, for that warm welcome and your strong words of support for the partnership between Pakistan and the United States, and it is a partnership that you have done so much to forge. I am delighted to be here and to be part of this continuing Strategic Dialogue.
I want to begin my congratulating the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan for successfully concluding negotiations last night on the Afghanistan-Pakistan transit trade agreement. This is the most significant, concrete achievement between these two neighbors in nearly 50 years. I believe it will go a long way towards strengthening regional economic ties, creating jobs in both countries, and promoting sustainable economic development. And I applaud the Government of Pakistan for demonstrating your commitment to bilateral cooperation and building trust and closer ties between your country and your neighbor, Afghanistan.
My colleagues and I are delighted to join Minister Qureshi, other ministers, officials of the foreign ministry and other agencies of the Pakistan Government for this second meeting of the elevated and expanded U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. We bring with us the best wishes of President Obama and other members of the Administration, members of Congress, and the American people who recognize the importance of this relationship in building a secure, prosperous, and peaceful future for both our nations.
On a personal note, let me say to you and to all the Pakistani people how good it is to be back in Pakistan. This is my sixth visit and I always look forward to coming here not just because of the work that our governments are able to do together, but because of the relationships and friendships I’ve made and the conversations I’ve been privileged to have with so many Pakistani citizens.
I know that the past few weeks have been trying times for the people of Pakistan. The attack on the shrine of Data Darbar, a place that is sacred to many Pakistanis, as well as Muslims and non-Muslims worldwide, and so many attacks that continue to target the innocent – men, women and children – who are praying, who are shopping, who are working, who are living their lives, I convey our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones and all those who are impacted by violence. Acts like these are meant to sow divisions between people. But I have seen how they have brought us together in affirmation of our shared values, our common humanity, and our mutual aspirations.
Of course, there are differences between our countries and our peoples, and we need to address them candidly. But every time I visit Pakistan, I become more convinced that our differences, although important, are small compared with all that connects us and there is so much we can accomplish together as partners joined in common cause. That is the promise and the reality represented by the Strategic Dialogue. This dialogue, as the minister has said, is an achievement in and of itself. Not long ago, meetings like this, at this level with this breadth of participation, were rare. Now, I’m happy to say they are becoming routine.
Since my visit here last October, when Foreign Minister Qureshi and I agreed to restart this dialogue and we both agreed to serve as its chairs, officials from our governments have come together multiple times. We convened in Washington in March to create 13 working groups each focused on a critical issue – promoting trade and economic growth, strengthening energy supplies for the Pakistani people, improving access to healthcare and education and so much else.
In recent months, every working group has met here in Pakistan to engage in high-level, substantive discussions about how to move forward. Together, we have identified roadblocks, devised strategies, and begun to put ideas into action. And the work has gone so well that we moved up the date of this review by several months.
I want to echo my friend, Foreign Minister Qureshi, in praising the efforts of both of our teams. This kind of results-oriented engagement is exactly what he and I hoped this dialogue would produce. But while we can be pleased, we cannot be satisfied. There is still so much work to be done as we unlock the full potential of the dialogue and translate our combined expertise and resources into lasting progress for the betterment of the people of Pakistan.

Let me briefly describe some of the highlights of our work so far and some plans for what comes next. One of our objectives when we launched this dialogue was to deepen our existing partnerships in key areas like security, while starting new partnerships on urgent issues like water. We know that there is a perception held by too many Pakistanis that America’s commitment to them begins and ends with security. But in fact, our partnership with Pakistan goes far beyond security. It is economic, political, educational, cultural, historical, rooted in family ties. That this misperception has persisted for so long tells us we have not done a good enough job of connecting our partnership with concrete improvements in the lives of Pakistanis. And with this dialogue, we are working very hard to change that perception and to deliver results that truly have the concrete effects we are seeking.
Now, of course, security is a critical element of our partnership. Pakistan plays a central role in promoting security throughout the region. The Pakistani people stand on the front lines of a battle with violent extremists who target shrines, mosques, markets, government buildings, killing and injuring hundreds and hundreds of innocent people. The United States condemns this brutality and we stand in strong support of the democratic Government of Pakistan as it works to stop these groups once and for all.
But security is just one piece of this vital partnership. We share with Pakistan a vision of a future in which all people can live safe, healthy, and productive lives; contribute to their communities; and make the most of their own God-given potential. This future demands a comprehensive human security, a security based on the day-to-day essentials like jobs, schools, clinics, food, water, fuel, equal access to justice; strong, accountable public institutions. These are the building blocks of a durable, thriving society, and they are the aspirations not only of the Strategic Dialogue but of the people of Pakistan.
So the United States does not want only a dialogue between the governments, we want a dialogue between peoples. During my visit here last October, I had conversations with students, women, business leaders, tribal elders, and so many others, to learn more about their concerns and their priorities. And I heard over and over again about several pressing needs – jobs, clean water, healthcare, electricity. I also heard the concerns that these conversations would not have an impact on the work we were doing. But in fact, both of our governments, as the minister has said, are committed to following the lead of the people.
I returned to our Pakistani partners and my colleagues in Washington and said this is what the Pakistani people want us to work on, and we built this Strategic Dialogue with these needs in mind.
Today, I am pleased to announce several new programs the United States will undertake as a direct result of this dialogue in partnership with the government and people of Pakistan. Last October, I described the first phase of a signature energy program to help increase energy production and reduce the blackouts that have plagued Pakistani cities and communities for months.
The United States wants to support that progress with the second phase of our signature energy program. We have maps up here which show what we are doing. I’ll mention a few of the projects. We will complete two hydroelectric dam projects, the Satpara dam in Skardu which will supply electricity to more than 280,000 people, and the Gomal Zam dam in South Waziristan which will provide electricity to 25,000 homes. We have seven projects. You can see on the map where they’re located in terms of the energy. We’re also helping Pakistan develop alternative energy sources like wind and solar power, as well as its natural gas reserves.
We are creating a signature water program in Pakistan. First, we will be building or rebuilding the municipal water systems for Peshawar and Jacobabad, everything from water distribution to storage to treatment. Second, in 139 municipalities in Southern Punjab with a combined population of more than 50 million people, we will be working with local governments to ensure that people have safe drinking water and improved sanitation. Third, we will build water storage systems for the Satpara dam to supply 3 million gallons of clean drinking water per day and for the Gomal Zam dam which will irrigate 190,000 acres, reaching 30,000 farming families. And fourth, in each of Pakistan’s four provinces, we will provide the drip irrigation technology and training that we’ve heard over and over again farmers are asking for.
Another critical need is healthcare, and I’m pleased to announce we will either renovate or build three medical facilities. In Lahore we will triple the size of Pakistan’s largest maternity hospital. In Karachi we will build a surgical ward for mothers injured in childbirth. And in Jacobabad, we will renovate the hospital that serves 1 million people in Northern Sindh and Balochistan.
We want to work with Pakistan to promote economic growth and the creation of jobs. Pakistan, as the minister has said, has made progress and we really salute the country and particularly the tough decisions made by this government to move out of economic crisis and into economic stability. You’ve enacted some important reforms to attract foreign investment and encourage new businesses. Now you face some hard choices, such as meaningful tax reforms that are needed to put Pakistan on the path to long-term economic prosperity. The United States will offer support while you make these tough reforms.
And we want to help improve economic opportunities especially for the large numbers of young people who are coming of age now and are looking for their chance to make their own mark on the world. To that end, we will invest $100 million to expand access to credit for small and medium size enterprises so more good ideas have the chance to become successful businesses. And through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, we will provide $50 million to support private equity investments in innovation and technology projects in Pakistan.
One sector primed to grow is farming, and so to support agricultural productivity in Pakistan, we will help develop a rural dairy program and the infrastructure to export Pakistan’s mangos, which I can say from personal experience are going to be very welcome on the shelves of American stores.
These are just a few of the programs the United States is committed to undertake on behalf of the people of Pakistan. As you can see from the maps behind me, we have programs across the country and across sectors. All of these programs were made possible by the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act, which tripled our non-military aid to Pakistan to $7.5 billion over five years. We hope that projects like these will translate into real-life improvements for families and communities. These are not one-time expenditures. They are long-term investments in Pakistan’s future. We are committed to continuing our work with the Government of Pakistan to find ways to deliver services and opportunities that the people need to have.
When this dialogue convened in Washington in March, I said that it represented a new day in relations between our countries. But of course, this is not the work of any one day, but of every day. And so we must continue to hold these discussions and to move beyond them. We have to approach our work with patience and persistence to solve problems, meet challenges, and fulfill the promises made to our people.
In 1948, on the one-year anniversary of Pakistan’s creation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the man who worked so hard to make Pakistan a reality, spoke to your new nation. It was just a month before his death. Here’s what he said: “Nature has given you everything. You have got unlimited resources. The foundations of your state have been laid and it is now for you to build and build quickly and as well as you can.”
Today, this collaboration between Pakistan and the United States is blessed with resources, most particularly the talent and ingenuity of our people. And together, we are laying the foundation for an enduring partnership. It is now for us to follow the Quaid e Azam’s urgent advice and build as quickly and as well as we can a future of security, prosperity, and peace for both of our countries.
Thank you, Minister Qureshi.


Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Hillary Clinton: Images from the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue

Clearly the Secretary of State had a very busy day in the middle of a very busy week. She was "on" all day as host of this conference, and, as a result, there is a ton of pictures to be viewed. Since Wednesday is always my busiest and longest day, I just now at 10:15 p.m. finished collecting all the photos. The best (and fastest) way for me to post them is via a bulk upload, so here is a slideshow of her remaining breathtakingly beautiful throughout a breathtakingly busy day.

Sexretary Clinton's Remarks With Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi At Reception for the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue

Remarks With Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi At Reception for the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue



Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Richard Holbrooke
Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
March 24, 2010


AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: Welcome to the State Department, and come on up as close as you can. My name is Richard Holbrooke. I am the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and it is my great honor today to welcome you, the largest group of Pakistani Americans ever assembled in the State Department, and to introduce our honored host and our honored guest.
Of course, she needs no introduction to this audience. As First Lady, as senator, as Secretary of State, Pakistan and the Pakistani American community are always not far from her heart. Five times she has traveled to Pakistan in these jobs. She knows so many of you personally. She and Foreign Minister Qureshi are the two people who collaborated to lead to the creation of the American Pakistan Foundation, many of whose members and supporters are here today. And that is a creation to which I think history will pay full record.
She is an inspirational leader, a great Secretary of State, especially for Pakistan, and I’m proud to say my dear friend. She’s also my boss, but I didn’t have to say that. (Laughter.) Please join me in welcoming the 67th Secretary of State of the United States of America, Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Applause.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, thank you very, very much. And thanks to Ambassador Holbrooke, who has done an extraordinary job as our special representative and who you wouldn't believe it, is too modest by far giving me the credit for so much of what we’ve done this past year.
It’s a real pleasure to welcome all of you here to the State Department on an absolutely beautiful spring day. I hope you take advantage of the view out there, which is one of the best in Washington. I know that Secretary – or that Senator Dick Lugar was here. I think he had to leave for votes. I believe that Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee is still here, and we’re so happy she is here. (Applause.) And I want to be sure – I can’t see them all the way back, but I know that others who are intending to join are Senator Ted Kaufman, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Congressman John Tierney, and Congressman Ike Skelton.
We’ve had an excellent day for Pakistan-United States relationships with the kickoff of this high-level Strategic Dialogue. And I want to thank Foreign Minister Qureshi and all the members of his delegation for making today’s events possible. Those of us who have experienced Pakistan’s famous hospitality firsthand are delighted to welcome you as our guests. And we hope we will have many more occasions to do so in the future.
Today does mark the beginning of a new stage in the relationship between Pakistan and the United States. With this Strategic Dialogue, we are addressing the full range of interests and concerns that matter to the Pakistani and American people, including national security, economic growth, agriculture, energy, education, health, social progress, with a new level of commitment and focus.
Now, some might ask what really has changed, what makes this dialogue so special. Well, to begin with, this is the first time ever that such a dialogue has been led by a foreign minister and the Secretary of State. We’ve also established new procedures. With this dialogue, we have identified projects in key areas and created a roadmap for making consistent progress. Working groups consisting of experts and policy makers from both countries have been meeting today and will continue meeting tomorrow and will continue meeting for the months ahead. Foreign Minister Qureshi and I will be overseeing that work and we will stay involved in it, and our teams intend to meet again later this year, this time in Pakistan.
But I would add that one of the real features that differentiates this effort from others is all of you. We are joined today by board members from the U.S.-Pakistan Business Council, the American Pakistan Foundation, Pakistani Americans who work for the United States Government, including many who work here at the State Department, and people from across the broader Pakistani American community – business leaders, academics, professionals, citizens from every walk of life. And your presence reminds us of the bonds of friendship and family that connect our countries, the vibrant community that sustains and strengthens this relationship. Ours is a partnership not only between governments, but between people. And people can help us achieve our goals in ways that governments simply cannot.
So we today are charting a new course for the future together, one that is strategic and substantive and that will yield tangible benefits. One of the ingredients for that success will be investments, investments of all kinds. And I am looking at some of the most successful people in our country as I look out and see so many friends here. Business investment is absolutely essential. In this past year, we have seen Pakistan’s economy begin to recover, thanks in part to remittances from Pakistanis and families living overseas. Remittances reached record levels in 2009 and they helped to spark critical economic activity.
But the opportunity to work, to go to school, to start a business, to build a career are still out of reach for too many. And business investment will be absolutely critical for Pakistan’s long-term progress. We all have a stake in Pakistan’s success. And I know that there are so many of you who have Pakistan in your heart and there are so many of you who have business interests in Pakistan, and I would encourage even more of that. We announced today a flight from Pakistan to Chicago via Barcelona, so many of my friends in Chicago will be very happy to hear that. (Applause.)
It is for me a great pleasure to be working on this Strategic Dialogue and to be helping to shape our partnership going forward. And to that end, I have an excellent partner in the foreign minister. He and I have worked so well over the last 15 months during my tenure, and I’m very grateful for his creativity and his leadership. Foreign Minister Qureshi. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER QURESHI: Thank you, Madam Secretary. Thank you for the support that I have received from you and your team. Ladies and gentlemen, I will not be exaggerating if I say that today, the 24th of March, will be recognized in days to come as a important day in U.S.-Pakistan relations. Because today, we have tried to redirect this relationship into a partnership. And this could only come about realizing that a strategic partnership can only be strategic if it is people-centered. And your presence and your support is what I seek.
I remember the first meeting that many of you attended in New York when we were discussing the idea of the Pakistan American Foundation. There were many who said don’t even venture this way, it’ll not work. But I believe in perseverance, and I believe if you persevere, it commands success. And I have faith and I believe in you, the Pakistani Americans, because I have interacted with some of you. I am getting to know more of you. And the more I interact with you, the more I realize how much you care – how much you care about Pakistan. You are American citizens now, but you still have your heart and soul very much in Pakistan.
And that is why we’ve created a vehicle for you that you will own and direct and give leadership to. We will facilitate. We will not guide nor are we bosses. I’m a democrat and democracy believes in people. I think the best ambassadors Pakistan can have are you people who have done it in a competitive environment, in a challenging environment. You’ve proved your mettle and I am proud of you. And I request you to help Pakistan to strengthen democratic values in Pakistan. After many years, we are back on track.
Today in Pakistan, we have a functioning democracy. Today in Pakistan, I can proudly say we have a very independent judiciary. Today in Pakistan, we have a very independent media. Today in Pakistan, we have a growing, a vibrant civil society. And collectively, we can take Pakistan to the level it ought to go to. We are not a poor country. We are a rich country. We are rich in human capital. We are rich in resources. We only need to utilize them better. And if we can do it, I am confident that we will grow. And very soon, we will grow by 6 to 7 to 8 percent.
And we are determined to push poverty down. We are determined to achieve the goals that the founding fathers of this country – the vision they had for Pakistan and the founder of my party – the economic change, the social change that he promised. We are going to achieve that. And you will help us achieve that goal.
Corporate America can help Pakistan. Today, we’ve created a vehicle to which you can help Pakistan. There are great business opportunities in Pakistan. Yes, there are challenges. Yes, there are difficulties. Yes, we are going through a difficult time. Yes, there is a security situation. I do not deny that. But we will change it. And the last two years of this democratic government, we have shown and we have provided the leadership to bring about that change.
Today, the Taliban are on the run. Today, the militants know that there is a government, and the people of Pakistan and the public opinion of Pakistan are united, and collectively, they are going to defeat them. The armed forces of Pakistan have performed heroically and we are proud of their performance. The ordinary citizen has suffered. Innocent citizens have suffered on account of terrorism. But that has not weakened our resolve. Every casualty makes us more determined to defeat terrorism and to reverse extremism. And we will succeed, because defeat is not an option.
With your help, with your support, and with this new partnership that we are building, I think we will achieve our objectives sooner than expected. So thank you, thank you for being here, thank you for supporting us. (Applause.) Thank you for caring about Pakistan. Whether it was the earthquake or any natural disaster, you have stood out. And taking the lead from the response I got, Madam Secretary, from the Pakistani Americans, your response encouraged me.
And let me share with you, I’m trying to reproduce this model in the United Kingdom. I’ve spoken to David Miliband and I have a group together and we are working, and Inshallah, the next foundation is going to be the Pakistan-UK foundation, because I want to mobilize. I want to mobilize the diaspora – the diaspora that we have all over Europe – educated Pakistanis, capable Pakistanis, caring Pakistanis, to care for our Pakistan. Thank you. (Applause.)


SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON Daily Appointments Schedule for March 24, 2010

Daily Appointments Schedule for March 24, 2010

Washington, DC
March 24, 2010



SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON


8:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton hosts the Opening Session of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE FOR OPENING REMARKS)


10:00 a.m.
Secretary Clinton chairs a Millennium Challenge Corporation Board Meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a Bilateral Meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, at the Department of State.
(PRESS AVAILABILITY)

4:30 p.m.
Secretary Clinton attends a Reception for the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY)