Hillary Clinton at the Tomodachi Event in Tokyo

Remarks at the Tomodachi Event

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Ambassador's Residence

Tokyo, Japan

July 8, 2012

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Well, I am excited to be here with all of you, and I thank you for being part of the Tomodachi Generation and for the work you are doing with each other and between the young people of Japan and the young people of the United States. There is no doubt in my mind that the way Japan has demonstrated resilience and determination after the terrible earthquake and tsunami is a great indicator of what the future for the Tomodachi Generation can be.
There is a great deal of work to be done in the world today, whether you are in the Foreign Service or you are studying or you have some other dream that you are pursuing. And experiences like what you went through with your losses, the tragedy that afflicted so many thousands and thousands of your fellow Japanese citizens, gives you a perspective on what is important in life that can be extremely useful for yourselves personally, for your country, and for the world.
I was very pleased to be able to come to Japan shortly after the disasters. And working with the Ambassador and the excellent team here at the Embassy, and the United States military and the private sector of our country, and many, many American citizens worked to support Tomodachi and provide an understanding of what Japan had gone through and what now the United States Government and the American people could do to continue working with you.
So exchange programs like the one you will be going on, reconstruction projects, the kind of personal assistance that some people still need because they lost so much, is part of what Tomodachi does. But even more than that, it is a statement of commitment and concern between our countries that is about the future, and particularly about the future of young people.
The United States and Japan are allies. We are partners. But we have a special responsibility to keep creating a better world, not just for ourselves but for those who have so little and who need so much. Today I spent at the Tokyo Conference that the Japanese Government has done an excellent job in preparing and holding today. And Japan has been very generous to Afghanistan, a country far away, over the last 10 years, because there was a commitment by the Japanese Government and people to help someone else in need. And Japan historically has been very generous with aid and support to people who were suffering.
When the disaster of the earthquake and the tsunami and then the nuclear plant meltdown happened, it would have been very easy for Japan to say we can’t continue helping anybody else because we have so many needs ourselves. But as we heard today at the conference, Japan did not stop helping Afghanistan and other people, even while you had to do so much for your own citizens. I think that is the spirit of Tomodachi, and I think Japan has set a great example for the world.
So I was proud last year to come and support Tomodachi, and I am very proud to be back here today to hear from two of your members, but to know, from what I have been told, so much more about what each of you is doing. And I feel very positive – optimistic – about the future of Japan because of the young people and your response to the need that your country had and what you’re doing to build a better future for yourselves and for people not only in Japan but even around the world, to build bridges of understanding, and I think the Americans who are part of the Tomodachi initiative, because that’s what it’s going to take to build the kind of world that we need to have in the 21^st century – much more understanding, much more connectivity and communication, more mutual help and efforts on behalf of each other.
So it’s a great honor for me to be here, Ambassador, and to see the continuation of what you have achieved with Tomodachi. And I hope that it will keep going for many, many, many years to come. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

Hillary Clinton at an Afghan Civil Society Event in Tokyo

Remarks at Afghan Civil Society Event

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Prince Park Tower Hotel

Tokyo, Japan

July 8, 2012

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Let me welcome this wonderful group of men and women from across Afghanistan who are here as part of the Tokyo Conference. We are very pleased that we have the benefit of your experience and your views, and I look forward to our conversation. I want to thank Ambassador Marc Grossman for helping to organize this meeting. Ambassador Grossman is our Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and he has been very focused on making sure that the voices of the people are heard, not just the government. Because we know that any lasting peace, any economic development, the opportunities that we have been discussing here at the Tokyo Conference, are only possible if civil society is there to advocate for them.
I also am pleased that Ambassador Ryan Crocker could join us from Kabul. Thank you, Ambassador Crocker. Also with us is Ambassador Melanne Verveer, our Special Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, and Don Steinberg, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. And I am particularly looking forward to hearing from our two representatives of Afghan civil society, Samira and Hiyatula, in a few minutes.
I want to hear how you believe we can do more to work with you to support open and accountable governance, economic opportunities, and social equality and inclusion. And I want particularly to hear about the challenges that you see ahead. The United States is committed to helping the Afghan people and the civil society groups that you represent, among others, to work toward a secure, independent, and democratic future.
But as we transition to Afghan-led security across your country, we want to make it clear that being strong, sovereign, and independent does not mean being alone. We want to continue to stand with you. The Strategic Partnership Agreement that our President signed in Kabul in early May that is now fully in effect provides a long-term framework for our relationship, sending a clear signal that America’s support will endure. And it outlines the basis for our extensive cooperation over the next decade in fighting violent extremism, strengthening democratic institutions, and protecting human rights.
We have also been very clear – and we just finished a meeting between the Afghan Government and the Pakistani Government – about Afghan-led reconciliation, that it can only happen with groups and individuals who sever ties to al-Qaida, renounce violence, and pledge to abide by the Afghan constitution, including its protections for women and minorities. Reconciliation cannot, must not, come at the expense of the gains you have made in the last 10 years. So we want to be sure your voices are heard. We want to stand up for your rights and we want to condemn extremism and any kind of abuses that affect people and particularly women in Afghanistan.
We also want to support a free press and journalists who hold governments accountable, report the facts about what is happening, and exchange ideas so that better decisions can be made. We also wish to support constitutional and transparent parliamentary and presidential elections. And for us, when we talk about Afghan-led, we don’t mean just the government. We mean the Afghan people.
So with that, let me ask you, please, to translate before we come and hear from our representatives, and then turn it over to all of you.

Hillary Clinton at the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan

Intervention at the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Prince Park Tower Hotel

Tokyo, Japan

July 8, 2012

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Thank you, Foreign Minister Gemba. We also thank Prime Minister Noda, Madam Ogata, and the Japanese Government not only for welcoming us here but for the great generosity and leadership Japan continues to show in helping Afghanistan move forward into the transformation decade. We also recognize Secretary General Ban, President Karzai, our Afghan Co-chairs Foreign Minister Rassoul and Finance Minister Zakhilwal, along with representatives of Afghanistan’s civil society who are here, because after all, what we are talking about is the future of the men, women, and children of Afghanistan. And I am delighted they are part of this conference.
I also want to commend all who have produced the three principles of the document, starting with the Afghanistan strategic vision for the transformation decade called Towards Self-Reliance. I really compliment our Afghan friends for an excellent job. And then the Tokyo Declaration and the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework are translating our goals and our commitments into a path that we can follow together and help hold each other accountable.
This conference represents the culmination of nearly two years of intensive work. Beginning in 2010 in Lisbon, continuing in Istanbul last fall, Bonn in December, Chicago in May, and Kabul just a few weeks ago, Afghanistan and the international partners have charted a responsible end to the war and the transfer of full responsibility for security back to Afghanistan.
Together, we have made pledges to meet the needs of the Afghan National Security Forces. Like a number of countries represented here, the United States and Afghanistan signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement that went into effect four days ago. And I was pleased to meet with President Karzai in Kabul yesterday morning, where I announced that Afghanistan is now officially designated a major non-NATO ally of the United States. As President Karzai said, we have to make the security gains and the transition irreversible, and the United States is committed to this enduring partnership.
Now, here in Tokyo we are focused on the economic development and governance advances that we hope to make together. Because we know Afghanistan’s security cannot only be measured by the absence of war; it has to be measured by whether people have jobs and economic opportunity, whether they believe their government is serving their needs, whether political reconciliation proceeds and succeeds.
And Afghanistan has made substantial progress with the help of the international community, as Madame Ogata and others have already outlined. But now we have to ensure the strongest possible collaboration among four groups so that this decade of transformation can produce results: the Afghan Government and people, first and foremost; the international community; Afghanistan’s neighbors; and the private sector. This collaboration depends on mutual accountability, and all sides have work to do and responsibilities to uphold.
As President Obama has said, as Afghanistan stands up, it will not stand alone. Let me speak briefly about each group’s role.
Obviously, the future of Afghanistan belongs to its government and its people. And I welcome the clear vision presented by President Karzai and the Afghan Government today for unlocking Afghanistan’s economic potential by achieving a stable democratic future. That must include fighting corruption, improving governance, strengthening the rule of law, increasing access to economic opportunity for all Afghans, especially for women.
On this point, let me emphasize that the United States believes strongly that no nation can achieve sustainable peace, reconciliation, stability, and economic growth if half the population is not empowered. All citizens need to have the chance to benefit from and contribute to Afghanistan’s progress, and the United States will continue to stand strongly by the women of Afghanistan.
President Karzai has made a strong public commitment to stamping out corruption, implementing key reforms, and building Afghanistan’s institutions. We will support him and the government in that endeavor to enable Afghanistan to move toward self-reliance and away from dependence on donor assistance.
As Afghans do their part, the international community must do ours, by making concrete pledges of economic support to ensure that Afghanistan meets its fiscal needs in the critical post-transition period.
I am very pleased that Prime Minister Noda has confirmed that $16 billion is available from the international community through 2015. This is sustained economic support that will help Afghanistan meet its fiscal needs even as assistance declines. The United States will request from our Congress assistance for Afghanistan at or near the levels of the past decade through the year 2017. And our assistance will create incentives to help the Afghan Government meet mutually agreed reform goals.
In addition to the international community, Afghanistan’s neighbors have an especially key role to play. I’ve spoken before of the vision of a New Silk Road in which Afghanistan is firmly embedded in the economic life of a thriving South and Central Asia. Nothing offers a more credible alternative to insurgency than the jobs and opportunities that come with foreign investment and the expansion of markets. Increasing regional trade will open up new sources of raw materials, energy, and agricultural products—not just for Afghanistan but for all nations in the region. And we are delighted to see this vision coming to light through the Istanbul Process and various regional trade and transit agreements.
The last essential ingredient to a successful economic transition and transformation is the private sector, because that will be key for driving growth, creating jobs, and supporting the kind of reform that needs to be sustainable. We look to the Afghan Government to follow through on their reform commitments, and we look to the international community to do what we can to draw business and investment to Afghanistan. Last month in new Delhi, in anticipation of today’s conference, hundreds of companies attended an investment summit.
So the key pieces are there. The private sector interest is there. The Afghan Government’s commitment to fight corruption and strengthen the rule of law is there. The international community’s support, as evidenced by this conference, is there as well. And the growing partnership between Afghanistan and its neighbors is also growing.
We need to put those commitments together in order to achieve the future that is worthy of the sacrifice of the Afghan people and many nations represented around this table. The future has got to be what the Afghan people have forged for themselves, and we need to make sure that we do everything to make that a reality.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)

It's Official: Secretary Clinton To Travel To Berlin, Seoul, Tokyo

Secretary Clinton to Travel to Berlin, Seoul, and Tokyo

Press Statement

Mark C. Toner
Acting Deputy Spokesman

Washington, DC

April 11, 2011

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Berlin, Germany, April 13 to April 15. Secretary Clinton will join foreign ministers from NATO and partner countries for an informal NATO Foreign Ministerial meeting. They will meet separately with Operation Unified Protector and ISAF partners to discuss Libya and Afghanistan as well as counterparts in the NATO-Georgia Commission, the NATO-Ukraine Commission and the NATO-Russia Council. While in Berlin, the Secretary will attend a memorial service for Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke at the American Academy in Berlin and receive the Walther Rathenau Prize for outstanding contributions to international understanding and cooperation.

The Secretary will continue to Seoul, Republic of Korea from April 16 to April 17. The Secretary will meet with President Lee Myung-bak as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen the alliance and to discuss cooperation on regional issues.

Secretary Clinton then will visit Tokyo, Japan, on April 17, to show the United States' support for the people of Japan and to highlight our long-standing commitment to the alliance. While there, Secretary Clinton will meet with Prime Minister Naoto Kan and with Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and other Japanese senior officials. The Secretary also will meet with Embassy staff in Tokyo to express her gratitude for their services and support during this crisis.

Hillary Clinton: Hello and Goodbye Tokyo!

Even though she landed in Shanghai long ago (see the previous post), news of the Secretary of State's activities on the ground in Tokyo continues to feed in. Since I know readers here prefer more rather than less of our assiduous, brilliant, and cute diplomat-in-chief (a+b+c+d)* here are some odds and ends courtesy of the State Department from her visit to Tokyo.

First, a short video of her statement on North Korea.



Then, a few photos I did not post earlier, done as only the State Department can. Here is her day in Tokyo.

Hellloooo Tokyo!!!!!

Who could NOT be pleased to see her?

Time with Foreign Minister Okada

With Prime Minister Hatoyama

Goodbye, Tokyo! It was lovely!

*Contest: New noun phrases along this formula ([a]adj.+[b]adj.+[c]adj.+[d] n.)
I know, as if you don't have anything ELSE to do! I need new descriptors. Other formulae are acceptable as long as they are sequential, e.g. ([b]adj.+[c]adj.+[d]adj.] + [e] n.)
Worse, there's no prize, unless Bill Clinton wants to spring for a phone call in appreciation of appreciation for his lovely wife. Negative descriptors will be rejected. This is a Pro-Hillary Clinton blog. Period!