Remarks With Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Monrovia, Liberia
August 13, 2009
Video Link
PRESIDENT JOHNSON-SIRLEAF:
Once again, I’m very pleased to welcome Secretary Clinton and her
delegation to express on behalf of the Liberian people our thanks and
appreciation, for Liberia has been included on the list of the African
countries that she has visited during this tour. We have expressed to
her how grateful we are for the partnership Liberia enjoys with the
United States, the deep friendship between the people of the United
States and the people of Liberia. We look forward to continuing to carry
out our part of the bargain to move Liberia forward, open society,
democracy, accountability, transparency, developing our country through
proper use of our natural resources. And we also look forward to her
support and the United States support of our endeavors as we seek to
achieve our national development goals.
Thank you for coming, Secretary Clinton.
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Thank you very much. I am delighted to be here with President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf, a leader whom I admire and someone who has provided
great leadership for her country. I bring warm greetings from President
Obama, both to the president and to the people of Liberia.
In our
meeting, I conveyed a message to President Sirleaf that I’ve echoed at
other points during this trip. The United States believes in America’s –
in Africa’s promise and Africa’s future, and we particularly believe in
the promise and future of Liberia. The relationship between our two
countries goes back to the earliest days of your (inaudible).
Today,
Liberia is a model of successful transition from conflict to
post-conflict, from lawlessness to democracy, from despair to hope. For
the last three years, the people of this country have been working to
promote reform, reconstruction, and reconciliation. Liberia has adopted
sound fiscal policy and seen strong economic growth. We just had a
briefing about that, and it is impressive the way that Liberia has
decreased its debt, which was run up, of course, during years of
conflict, and has had a high rate of GDP growth over these last years.
And the government is inclusive, especially for women, which I take
great pleasure in noting.
President Sirleaf and I and her cabinet
members and the members of government spoke about the work ahead. There
is a very clear sense of direction that this government has
demonstrated, and, of course, we have to continue to provide the support
that Liberia so richly deserves.
Throughout my trip, I have
underscored the reality that economic progress depends on good
governance, adherence to the rule of law, sound economic policies. And
the United States is proud to be contributing $17.5 million for programs
to help Liberia ensure that the elections of 2011 are free and fair.
Later
today, I will have the honor of addressing a joint session of the
national legislature, and I will speak there about the crucial role of a
legislature in providing responsible and responsive governance and
championing national reconciliation. There is a lot to be done. And as a
former senator myself, I know that effective legislating takes hard
work, patience, and compromise, and (inaudible) is absolutely necessary.
And Liberia today needs that kind of leadership from its elected
representatives.
I will also visit the national police academy and
speak to new police recruits, along with the president. Liberians need
to know that they can rely on local authorities to protect them, and
mothers should not be afraid to send their children to school, business
owners should be assured that their shops will be safe, and investors
confident that violence or corruption will not disrupt commerce. The
local law enforcement needs the training and resources to do its job.
And I am proud that the United States will be expanding its commitment
to work with the Government of Liberia, the United Nations, and other
partners to continue and complete the development of an effective,
democratic (inaudible) police force here in Liberia.
We also are
working to build new partnerships (inaudible) society and
nongovernmental organizations and to encourage more trade and
investment, and particularly the development of the agricultural sector.
The people of Liberia have proven their strength, their
resourcefulness, and their resilience. They hold their own future and
the future of their country and their children in their hands. But the
people of the United States are proud to stand with them and you,
President Sirleaf, in working to deliver the kind of future that the
people of this country deserve.
Thank you very much.
MODERATOR: (Inaudible) first question from the international press (inaudible) Jeffrey (inaudible).
QUESTION: Thank you. Madame Secretary, (inaudible).
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, first of all, let me say that this has been an absolutely
wonderful trip. I am grateful to all of the countries who received me
and my delegation. This was a very important trip that both President
Obama and I wanted to make early in the Administration to send a very
clear message that the Obama Administration is committed to developing
an even stronger and closer relationship with not just the government,
but especially the people of Africa. We are near the end of this trip,
and it is only appropriate to be here in Liberia where our relationship
goes back so many years. And at every stop, we have emphasized the
importance of fulfilling what President Obama said in his historic
speech in Ghana. The future of Africa is up to the Africans, just like
the future of Liberia is up to Liberians.
But all of us know that
given the conflicts and the challenges that have often prevented the
African people from realizing their full potential, the United States
stands ready to be a partner and a friend in helping to overcome the
obstacles and create the environment for the kind of development that
President Sirleaf is working on so hard here.
So I’ve had a great
time on this trip. I opened this newspaper – I think she looks like
she’s having a great time. And from my perspective, the most important
part of this trip is the relationships that we have built, the
commitments that we have discussed, the problems that we have honestly
explored. We have not shied away from raising the difficult problems
that exist and stand in the way of the people of Africa realizing their
potential. And I think that will stand the test of time, and I’m very
proud of the trip that we have made together.
MODERATOR: (Inaudible.)
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
PRESIDENT JOHNSON-SIRLEAF:
(Inaudible.) I’m pleased that corruption – long influenced, long
covered – is now being exposed (inaudible) catapulted so that we can
deal with it. We have already adopted anti-corruption strategies, we
have tried to strengthen the institutional (inaudible) the
anti-corruption commission. We have (inaudible) program. What we now
need is to enforce and to implement all of those laws and institutional
arrangements that we have put in place. (Inaudible) that our judiciary
is (inaudible) fight and has taken steps to get (inaudible) that is
committed to doing all it can to enforce the (inaudible).
It’s also
(inaudible) benefit by increasing (inaudible), all of them has
contributed to corruption. We now need for the public and the media to
recognize the progress and to join us in this fight, which is not
limited to government, but (inaudible) in all of the society. Together,
we will win, we will slay this monster.
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, I am very impressed by the steps that Liberia is taking to combat
corruption. Corruption is a problem everywhere. It is a cancer that eats
away at the strength of institutions and the confidence of people in
their government and in each other. And the steps that the president has
just outlined are very important, more advanced than many other
countries.
And remember, this has been a democracy for three years.
And I think that the people of Liberia should continue to speak out
against corruption, to demand changes, not just from the government, but
from themselves and their societies, because that is important as well.
And so from the actions that have been taken, we’ve seen a commitment
by President Sirleaf and her government and the legislature which passed
the laws. Now they have to implement them. You’ve got good laws on the
books. Now they have to implement them. So I think that the emphasis
that the president places on implementation is exactly right.
I also
believe that the steps that have been taken in this post-conflict
democracy to bring the country together are absolutely essential. I am
very supportive of actions that will lead to the peace, reconciliation,
and unity of Liberia. And I believe that President Sirleaf has been a
very effective leader on behalf of the (inaudible) Liberia, and the
United States officially supports what this government is doing. That is
why we have put in so much aid over the years. It’s why we’re going to
continue to be a strong partner with the Government of Liberia, because
we see, in a very broad perspective, the difficulties that are being
overcome and the successes that are being achieved in both meeting the
problems, but also in seizing the opportunities that Liberia now has.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Our official commitment is we support what this government is doing and
what President Sirleaf is doing, and are supporting the steps that are
being taken.
MODERATOR: (Inaudible.)
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: We can hear you. We can hear you, Michel.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, I’m going to let the president address this, but of course, it’s a
sign of support. We indeed have looked at the entire record that
President Sirleaf brings to office, her performance in office, the
accomplishments of the government she leads. And we are (inaudible) and
will continue to be so because we think that Liberia is on the right
track, as difficult as the path might be. And we will not underestimate
the difficulties.
We just had a briefing from the agriculture
minister, who is over there. (Inaudible) post-conflict era inherited a
devastating agricultural sector. All the livestock were gone. They have
been killed, eaten in the course of the conflict, which drives people
from their homes, which forces them to have to survive. Many of the
plant life was (inaudible) regeneration of agricultural productivity was
decimated.
I look at what President Sirleaf has (inaudible) in the
past two years, and I see a very accomplished leader dedicated to the
betterment of the Liberian people, who has been consistent in her
leadership on behalf of solving the problems that Liberia faces, to let
Liberians (inaudible) a peaceful future with prosperity and opportunity.
MODERATOR: (Inaudible) final question (inaudible).
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, first, with respect to our aid, we have provided a great deal of
aid, and a significant amount directly to the government (inaudible)
government (inaudible) providing technical assistance and other kinds of
support (inaudible) to increase the capacity of the government to serve
the people.
We are working to train the police force, which is
something that the Government of Liberia places a very high priority on.
We are working to help train the military. We are working in just about
every sector of society. And some of it is direct support and some of
it is to experts who have experience in performing the jobs that Liberia
needs performed.
So it’s a mix and it will continue to be a mix, but
we work very closely with the Liberian Government. We take their lead
on what their priorities are, and we will continue to do so. Later
today, I’ll be announcing some help for the airport. We think it’s
important to try to upgrade the airport so that you can get more flights
in and out of Monrovia that can then enhance the economic growth of the
country. We have a very large food security program that President
Obama has announced, and Liberia will be a good partner state to work
with. So we will be working with the government, with small and
medium-sized farmers and food processors.
So there’s a variety of
approaches that we try to do to find the best way to solve the problems
or to deliver the results. We are constantly asking ourselves, as is the
government here in Liberia: Is this the best way, and how can we do it
better? And we will (inaudible) that, because our goal is to help you
solve the problems and create the environment for further growth. That’s
what we want to do, and to help you solidify democracy and good
governance and the rule of law, and root out corruption and have a
security force that will protect your people. All of that is what the
Liberian Government and the Liberian people have requested. So we will
continue to work on that.
And I have no other – nothing to add to your second question that I haven’t already said.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON-SIRLEAF:
Secretary Clinton, let me not let that impression go unaddressed. It is
not correct to say that U.S. aid has not had an impact. If you look at
where we were two and a half years ago and you look at the development
today under each of our four pillars in the poverty reduction strategy,
you see roads being constructed, you see buildings that are (inaudible),
you see farms starting to operate again. We do not enjoy direct
budgetary support from the United States because that is the policy of
the United States. But the NGOs and several other programs do
(inaudible) with our development agenda and our (inaudible) priorities.
Thank you.
PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: (Laughter.) Thank you. Thank you very much.
