Wow! Secretary Clinton is one busy woman. Yesterday she met with Latin American leaders, Ricardo Martinelli and Patricia Espinosa, with the Gulf Cooperation Council, and she hosted a meeting on food security with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Today she is appearing on Face the Nation. Some of her remarks from yesterday appear below. She is always organized and succinct.
U.S.-Mexico High-Level Group Meeting
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
New York, NY
September 26, 2009
QUESTION: When did you arrive?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Sunday, last Sunday. And then I will be here next week, as well. And then, on Wednesday morning, I am chairing the Security Council on violence against girls and women, and some of the steps we are taking in the UN to elevate that, and (inaudible) the structure.
QUESTION: Do you have anything you want to say about your meeting with Mr. Solana this morning?
SECRETARY CLINTON: It was, as always with Javier Solana, a very comprehensive in-depth discussion about the many issues that we are working on with the European Union. And you know, the agenda, obviously, covered the entire waterfront: Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East, Bosnia, the Balkans. I mean, it just was a very broad and productive conversation.
QUESTION: Did you make any headway on the Honduras?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I have been working on that, and that is something that we will be discussing later. But, obviously, we are hoping that there will be a mission to Honduras that will finally get both sides to agree to the San Jose accords. But stay tuned. We will know more about that later.
MODERATOR: Thank you.
Meeting of the United States, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq Concluding Statement by the Participating Foreign Ministers
Office of the Spokesman
New York, NY
September 26, 2009
The Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and the United States met today in New York City to coordinate on efforts to promote their shared vision of a stable, peaceful and prosperous Middle East, and to intensify their consultations as partners and friends.
The Ministers welcomed the trilateral meeting among President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and President Abbas on September 22, and expressed their hope for rapid progress towards the resumption of negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Ministers welcomed President Obama’s important statement before the UN General Assembly which calls for the re-launching of negotiations – without preconditions – that address the permanent status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. The Ministers reiterated their call for a freeze on settlement activities. They expressed their continued support for an independent, viable, and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel, with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the Road Map, and the Arab Peace Initiative. They reiterated their full support for the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian government led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and their efforts to build the institutions of a future state. The Ministers also reiterated their support for achieving a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
The Ministers encourage Iran to engage constructively and expressed their hope that the planned meeting between Iran and the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and Germany on October 1 will begin a process that resolves international concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities.
The Ministers recognized that Iraq has made significant gains in the past year and expressed support for the Iraqi people and government as they face challenges, such as the horrific August 19 terrorist attacks on the foreign and finance ministries, and called for the prosecution of the perpetrators. The Ministers categorically condemn all terrorist attacks and expressed support for every effort endeavoring at restoring peace, security, and stability in Iraq. The Ministers also expressed support for Iraq as it prepares for 2010 national elections. The Ministers underlined the importance of regional support to the government of Iraq and the Iraqi people in their efforts to achieve a prosperous, united, and democratic Iraq that lives in peace with itself and with its neighbors and respects its international obligations. The Ministers stressed the principle of non-interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.
The Ministers further noted their concern for the situation in Yemen. The Ministers expressed full support for the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh; for the unity, security, and stability of Yemen; and for efforts for a peaceful dialogue. The Ministers underscored the importance of ensuring the security of civilians and relief workers, and the provision for the safe passage of emergency relief supplies to civilians affected by the conflict. The Ministers reiterated their support for the Yemeni government’s economic and governance reform initiatives, and their willingness to continue to assist Yemen in improving the lives of its people.
The Ministers, recalling previous meetings of this group, emphasized the importance of continuing these meetings under this configuration of states in order to exchange views and consider common approaches to key issues that affect their shared goals for the region.
Remarks at Food Security Event Co-Hosted with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon During the UN General Assembly
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
New York, NY
September 26, 2009
SECRETARY CLINTON: It is a great pleasure for me to be joining Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and all of you to exchange ideas and join forces against one of the most urgent threats facing our world: chronic hunger, and all of the consequences that it causes, some of which we saw in the short film leading into our conference today.
I wish that we had time to acknowledge every head of state and government minister here today, as well as all the representatives from foundations, non-governmental organizations, universities, and the private sector. But there are far too many of you -- which is the good news, that we have such an extraordinary turnout. And so, let me join with the Secretary General in welcoming and thanking all of you for taking time out late on a Saturday afternoon to be here.
Yesterday, at the Clinton Global Initiative, I discussed the principles that the Secretary General referred to: how we are going to fight hunger together and begin to alleviate and decrease poverty through sustainable agricultural development. We want to make sure that enough food is available, and that people have the resources to purchase it. That is a key foreign policy objective of President Obama and our administration. This is an issue that affects all of us, because food security is about economic, environmental, and national security for our individual homelands and the world.
As the Secretary General mentioned, five principles were embraced at the G8 summit in Italy. And these principles will guide our efforts.
The first of these principles is the need to invest in country-led plans. Few people know better the complex obstacles that hinder a country's food supply than the people who actually live and work in that country. And we will have the greatest chance at success if we pursue partnership, not patronage.
Second, we will address the underlying causes of hunger, by investing in everything from research to better seeds to insurance programs for small farmers to large-scale infrastructure projects that create sustainable, systemic change. And we will put women at the heart of our efforts, because most farmers of small holdings in the world are women.
Third, we will improve coordination at every level. Too often in the past, we have worked in silos, duplicating some efforts and overlooking others. Now we want to bring every partner from every sector together around a virtual one table across the world to discuss each country's plan, and then devise a way of executing it.
Fourth, we will leverage the benefits of multilateral institutions to support and help fulfill the country plans, because these institutions have the reach and resources to do more than any single country could do.
And, fifth, we pledge a long-term commitment, based on accountability. Now, we know that this is going to take years, and even decades, before we reach the finish line. But we have to stay committed. Because what we have seen, as illustrated in the film, is that international support for agriculture has declined, while contributions to emergency aid have increased.
We will continue, of course, to invest in the crises and the emergencies, but we want to begin to try to alleviate the crises and the emergencies by once again enabling people to feed themselves. Now, together, these principles represent an approach based on investments in our collective future. And they will help us achieve broad-based results that last.
Now we are going to hear from some people who have both experience and perspective about this effort. I am going to ask every speaker to limit their remarks to two or three minutes, because we have so many people who wish to speak. And I know that's difficult. But we will take any prepared remarks that are longer than that, and we will compile them and distribute them so that you will be able to see the full context of each speaker's presentation.
Let me begin with Rwanda, a stand-out example in country-led planning. And President Kagame will speak to this principle. Rwanda completed a compact and strategy through the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program. And the government of Rwanda followed through on its plan, and used its own resources to do so.
So I have the great honor of introducing the President of Rwanda.
(Applause.)
