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Clintons Close CGI in Rio and Convene in South Africa to Honor Nelson Mandela

Posted in Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, CGI, Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Willam Jefferson Clinton, tagged Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Brazil, CGI, Chelsea Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative, Dilma Rousseff, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, Nelson Mandela, South Africa on December 10, 2013| 8 Comments »

President and Chelsea Clinton closed the Clinton Global Initiative Latin America and swiftly made their way to Johannesburg for the memorial to Nelson Mandela. President Dilma Rouseff of Brazil, who participated in CGI was also in attendance at the monumental event help in the soccer stadium that hosted the 2010 World Cup. CGI issued the following.In South Africa, they met up with Hillary who had flown from Washington on Air Force 1 with the Obamas and George W. and Laura Bush. The memorial reportedly drew 91 heads of state and heads of government.

International Leaders Close CGI Latin America Meeting with a Focus on Fortifying the Region’s Progress

CGI Latin America attendees announced 27 Commitments to Action valued at more than $222 million, which aim to positively impact the lives of more than 500,000 people

President Clinton convened Top business, government, and NGO leaders, including President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, NIKE President and CEO Mark Parker, Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno, Grupo Omnilife CEO Angélica Fuentes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima Susana Villarán de la Puente, Natura Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Carlucci, Pro Mujer President and CEO Rosario Pérez, Gerdau Chairman of the Board of Directors Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter, and BTG Pactual Chief Executive OfficerAndré Esteves, convened December 8-10 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to promote successful efforts already underway in the region and advance new solutions to the social and economic challenges that remain

Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, hosted the sixth Clinton Foundation Day of Action on December 8, bringing people together for a day of volunteering, giving back to the local community in Rio de Janeiro by transforming a community day care center in the Morro do Vidigal neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro – Today, the Clinton Global Initiative Latin America (CGI Latin America) meeting concluded in Rio de Janeiro, where leaders from across Latin America and around the world explored how to carry Latin America’s social and economic progress into the future. Government leaders, top CEOs, and executives from leading NGOs focused on developing human capacity, designing for green growth, and harnessing innovation and technology in the region.

Participants developed and announced 27 Commitments to Action – new, specific, and measurable plans to address a challenge facing Latin America. These 27 commitments, valued at more than $222 million, will positively impact the lives of more than 500,000 people in Latin America and beyond. Overall, CGI members have made more than 2,500 commitments, which are improving the lives of more than 430 million people in over 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $87.9 billion. Of these, CGI members globally had already made 616 commitments around the world that directly impact the Latin American region since the Clinton Global Initiative launched in 2005. More than 250 of these commitments are specifically designed to improve lives throughout Latin America exclusively, and have an estimated value of $4.6 billion dollars when fully funded and implemented.

As part of the event, Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, hosted the sixth Clinton Foundation Day of Action on December 8, bringing people together for a day of volunteering in Rio de Janeiro. Volunteers helped transform the Mini Creche Santo Amaro – a community day care center in the Morro do Vidigal community of Rio de Janeiro. Started by Chelsea Clinton in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the Clinton Foundation ‘Day of Action” program seeks to create service opportunities and mobilize thousands of volunteers to give back to their respective communities. This was the sixth Day of Action, which all together has mobilized a total of 3,000 people donating more than 15,000 volunteer hours. This was the first Day of Action outside of the United States.

This meeting reflects President Clinton’s ongoing efforts through the Clinton Foundation to mobilize philanthropy and corporate social responsibility in all parts of the globe. Since leaving office, President Clinton has made many trips to Latin America. CGI Latin America built on President Clinton’s years of dedication to the region, from his time in government to the Clinton Foundation’s work in Latin America.

Since 2007, the Clinton Climate Initiative and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group have been empowering cities in Latin America to invest in green technologies and fight climate change— including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo’s deployment of low-carbon transportation, Bogotá, Colombia’s retrofitting of traffic lights, and Mexico City’s improvement of waste management systems.

Since 2007, the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership (Enterprise Partnership) empowers individuals across Latin America to work themselves out of poverty. The Enterprise Partnership creates distribution, supply chain and programs training social enterprises, including the Acceso Training Center in Colombia that will place 20,000 people in jobs and the Chakipi Distribution venture that will train 3,000 women for distribution jobs in Peru.

The Clinton Foundation, since 2010, has raised a total of $34 million for Haiti, including relief funds and also conducts projects focused on supporting Haiti’s small and medium businesses, improving livelihoods, enhancing education and exploring the nexus of agriculture, energy and environment.

Sponsors for the CGI Latin America meeting included: Amil, Andrade Gutierrez, CCR, CNI, ExxonMobil, Grupo ABC, Grupo Contax, Grupo Puntacana, Inter-American Development Bank, InterEnergy, Itaú Unibanco, Laureate Education, Light, OAS, Oi, PWC, Rockefeller Foundation, Santander, The Coca-Cola Company, The Dow Chemical Company, and Valor Econômico.

New CGI Commitments to Action made at the meeting include:

L!VE-Brazil: Healthy Kids, Improved Lives
Commitment By: SHE Foundation; Fundació Fútbol Club Barcelona; Inter-American Development Bank
Partner(s): Sesame Workshop; Fundación Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares; Nike, Inc.; Mount Sinai Foundation; Neymar Foundation
In 2013, SHE Foundation, Futbol Club Barcelona Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank committed to develop L!VE-Brazil, a school-based intervention program that utilizes new technologies and interactive activities to engage children and promote behavioral changes necessary to prevent the rise of chronic disease. L!VE-Brazil will adapt Sesame Workshop content for use in Brazilian pre-schools, developing materials to promote a reduction of sedentary behavior and adoption of a healthier lifestyle.

Teaching Retrofitting to Foster Safer Housing in Colombia
Commitment By: Build Change
Partner(s): Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje; SwissContact; Risk Management Solutions, Inc.
In 2013, Build Change committed to develop the capacity of Colombia’s Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje and other Colombian organizations by providing Training-of-Trainers in retrofitting techniques. Build Change will design two targeted courses: the first course will teach Colombian engineers, architects and construction technicians to conduct seismic evaluations, produce retrofitting designs and provide supervision during retrofitting; the second course will train builders in retrofitting techniques. Those trained will in turn train other implementing organizations in Colombia.

The Water for São Paulo Movement
Commitment By: The Nature Conservancy
Partner(s): FEMSA; Ambev; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Itaú Unibanco S/A; Sotreq; Town of Extrema; Grupo ABC
In 2013, The Nature Conservancy committed to mobilize a broad coalition of businesses, government agencies, water utilities, nonprofit organizations and watershed committees over a two-year period to fund, implement and manage green infrastructure conservation and restoration projects in São Paulo’s most important watersheds. This commitment will create the enabling conditions to restore 30,000 acres of priority water-provision areas, conserve 370,500 hectares of standing forests and control erosion on 5,434 hectares over the following ten years.

Generating Employment Opportunities for Youth in LAC
Commitment By: Inter-American Development Bank
Partner(s): Microsoft Corporation; Caterpillar Inc.; WalMart Stores, Inc.; International Youth Foundation; CEMEX Corporation; Arcos Dorados; Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI)
In 2013, The Inter-American Development Bank committed to roll out the implementation of the New Employment Opportunities program in 10 Latin American countries. These programs will build multi-stakeholder alliances to design effective youth employability strategies to achieve the common goal of significantly boosting job entry for 500,000 disadvantaged youth across Latin America, at least 50% of which will be women and girls. Ultimately, the NEO seeks to incorporate the most effective job skills programs into public education systems, national employment services and job training institutions, building the capacity to respond to the growing demands of both businesses and poor and low-income youth.

New Social Finance Tools to Impact 100,000 Lives in Brazil
Commitment By: SITAWI
Partner(s): Mais Unidos Group; WalMart Stores, Inc.; The Dow Chemical Company; Instiglio; Família C
In 2013, SITAWI committed to expanding its loan and donor-advised fund offering by $3.5 million to now total $5 million in new funds and mechanisms to transform the social and philanthropic sector in Brazil. SITAWI and its partners will develop tools, raise funds and operate them in sector-specific or community-based funds. This will create a tool to support long-term collaborations between social sector organizations, allowing them to achieve economies of scale and more transformational outcomes. By supporting ongoing efforts to create social impact bonds in Brazil; these new mechanisms will be open to new donors and partners creating the opportunity to engage multiple stakeholders.

Leveraging Opportunities for Amazonian Indigenous Youth
Commitment By: IKEA Foundation
Partner(s): Forest Trends; Associação Metareilá do Povo Indígena Surui; Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia (ECAM); Yawawaná Cultural Association; Acre Pro-Indian Commission; Kanindé Association
In 2013, the IKEA Foundation committed to creating opportunities for indigenous youth and women in the Surui and Yawanawa territories in the Brazilian Amazon, increasing their income generating capacity and improving their livelihoods from the sustainable management of their forests. This will be done through agroforestry training; sustainable renewable energy installation and training; peer youth learning exchanges, and women’s empowerment. The objective of this initiative is to provide youth with the long-term prosperity and sustainable management of their land while continuing to financially support generations to come. The programs aim to affect 160 youth and 200 women by 2016.

Scaling Social Impact Bonds in Latin America
Commitment By: Instiglio
Partner(s): SITAWI
In 2013, Instiglio committed to launch two Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) in Latin America over a three year period. This not only marks the launch of the first SIB in Latin America, but potentially the first SIB in a low or middle income country. SIBs will provide up-front capital to scale early interventions in areas as diverse as early childhood development and diabetes management; with governments or international donors paying based on the achievement of measured results.

Communities and Kids Bite Back to Control Dengue
Commitment By: UBS AG
Partner(s): University of California, Berkeley; CIET International; Brandeis University; Municipality of Rio de Janeiro; Redes de Desenvolvimento da Maré; Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; RedeTrel
In 2013, the UBS Optimus Foundation committed to fund an initiative to curb the spread of dengue in Latin America. The foundation will expand on Camino Verde’s successful pilot project to develop protocols for pesticide free interventions and a cluster randomized control trial, will conduct a trial to determine the capacity for the municipal and state governments to collaborate with community-led prevention efforts in Mexico, and pilot Dengue Torpedo, a mobile-application in Rio de Janeiro, which will be used as community platform to map mosquito breeding sites and provide low-cost education in health literacy.

Crafting Security: Advancing Artisan Incomes
Commitment By: Global Goods Partners
Partner(s): New York University; Swaziland Fair Trade Organization; Kiej de los Bosques, S.A.
In 2013, Global Goods Partners committed to develop and implement a well-structured, custom designed training and mentoring program that will match training and expertise to its partners’ needs, thereby providing the critical components needed to develop sustainable craft enterprises. Over a three year period, GGP committed to train and mentor 20 organizations from Asia, Africa and Latin America, impacting the live of 3,000 craft makers that make a living from their craft enterprises.

Turning Waste into Opportunities: Dominican Republic & Haiti
Commitment By: Ciudad Saludable
Partner(s): ECORED; Ministry of Environment, Dominican Republic; CCN Giresol
In 2013, Ciudad Saludable committed to support the integration of waste pickers to the formal sector through the launch and implementation of five solid waste management projects in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. These projects will improve the working and living conditions of waste pickers by developing micro-enterprises, strengthening waste pickers’ capacities, and creating a market for recycling materials. Over a three year period 140 waste pickers will enter the formal work sector, indirectly benefiting thousands through improved waste management and decreased CO2 emissions.

High-Impact Agriculture for Colombia’s Small-Scale Farmers
Commitment By: Fairtrasa
Partner(s): Ashoka: Innovators for the Public; Endeavor Global; abc* Foundation
In 2013, Fairtrasa committed to partner with 3,000 small-scale banana, avocado, and lime farmers and 300 packers in Colombia to bring their local produce to global markets at fair prices in a $1.5 million program over a four-year period. Fairtrasa will implement its three-tier development model to support farmers at all development stages, by providing them with seeds, capital, tailored training programs and technical support, helping them obtain export certifications, and connecting them to Fairtrasa’s global sales network.

Active Kids Do Better: Reshaping Brazil’s Decade of Sport
Commitment By: Nike, Inc.
Partner(s): United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Inter-American Development Bank; Natura Cosméticos S.A.; Municipality of Rio de Janeiro; Caixa Econômica Federal; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale (GIZ); BMZ (German Federal Ministry for Econ Cooperation and Dev’t); Instituto Bola Pra Frente; Central Única das Favelas
In 2013, NIKE, Inc. committed to join an unprecedented partnership of over 25 international and Brazilian organizations in the first effort to operationalize a global program, ‘Designed to Move’ in Brazil. The first component, the Active Schools Pilot, will increase both the quantity and quality of physical activity during school hours by building capacity of teachers and shifting school culture to value the overall benefits of physical activity. In the second component, Active Communities, Nike along with Caixa and Natura, will lead the private sector in funding grassroots sports and physical activity programs by embracing Brazil’s innovative corporate tax credit system. Combined, these two components will directly impact the lives of 44,500 children in Brazil over a four year period, with plans to significantly scale impact over the next five years.

Team Brazil Social Legacy Fund
Commitment By: streetfootballworld
Partner(s): SITAWI; Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
In 2013, streetfootballworld committed to create the Team Brazil Social Legacy Fund, a unique funding mechanism that leverages the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Brazil that will directly impact over 25,000 youth and children in Brazil. This fund will pool financial resources from partners all over the world to provide long-term sustainable support for sport-based development projects in Brazil. The overall aim of the fund is to be an inclusive investment opportunity for actors across the globe to contribute to a positive social legacy of the mega events in Brazil, and empower young, disadvantaged Brazilians with the skills necessary to create a better future for themselves and their communities

Bananeira Gera Renda- Generating Income for Women in Brazil
Commitment By: OAS S.A.
Partner(s): Municipality of Novo Lino
In 2013, OAS committed to certifying 200 women, from a community in Northeastern Brazil, in developing craft techniques using banana tree fibers. Teaching this technique will open new fronts of opportunity for these women, who will also receive training in entrepreneurship and cooperative management skills. By continuing to produce handmade goods in a sustainable way, they will improve the living conditions of local families.

Scaling Up STEM Brasil: Empowering Science and Math Teachers
Commitment By: Worldfund
Partner(s): Credit Suisse; Federative Republic of Brazil
In 2013, Worldfund committed to replicate and expand the STEM Brasil program by training an additional two-hundred teachers, consequently improving educational opportunities for 20,000 students in the state of São Paulo. By incorporating project-based training methods that develop 21st century skills into the state-mandated curriculum, Worldfund provides innovative methodology and pertinent activities that result in long-term improvements in teacher instructional methods and student learning outcomes.

Spreading Knowledge: Micro MBA for BOP Entrepreneurs
Commitment By: Frogtek
In 2013, Frogtek committed to develop a free mobile based application which will provide a micro MBA education to 10,000 entrepreneurs at the bottom of the pyramid in Colombia and Mexico. By educating these shopkeepers with fundamental business administration principles, Frogtek seeks to increase the sustainability and success of small businesses as they face heightened competition from larger businesses. Frogtek will also recruit experts in gaming, behavioral change techniques, and best business practices to develop a user friendly, innovative curriculum and coordinate the technical production of the mobile app.

Responsible Artisanal Fishing Systems: Restoring Ecosystems
Commitment By: AgroFrontera
Partner(s): Counterpart International; MacArthur Foundation; FoProBim
In 2013, AgroFrontera committed to work with artisanal fishing communities, fish and seafood companies, and other stakeholders in the northern border region of the Hispaniola Island to design, test and implement innovative cross-border value chains that link products from responsible fishing systems to high-value markets through the new SMART Association artisanal fishing certification program. Over two years, 500 fishers and 1200 fish workers will be directly impacted by the implementation of this commitment and an additional 28,400 family members, eco-tourism companies, local students and farmers, will indirectly benefit from the productivity or protective services provided by the marine ecosystems.

Nestlé Nutrir Crianças Saudáveis (Nestlé Healthy Kids)
Commitment By: Nestlé
Partner(s): International Assocation of Athletics Federations; Instituto Bola Pra Frente; Instituto Fernanda Keller; Casa do Zezinho; Bairro da Juventude
In 2013, Nestlé committed to expand its Nestlé Healthy Kids Program in Brazil (Nestlé Nutrir Crianças Saudáveis) with the objective of raising nutrition and health knowledge and promoting physical activity among 1 million more school-age children in Brazil. Nestlé will evaluate the performance and progress of each participating school, and provide positive incentives by presenting the annual Nestlé Nutrir award to the best school boasting outstanding progress.

Coca-Cola Coletivo: Scaling Sustainable Communities
Commitment By: The Coca-Cola Company
Partner(s): Inter-American Development Bank
In 2013, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, committed to refine and expand the Coca-Cola Coletivo platform through a $16 million investment across three countries in Latin America and 12 cities in Brazil. This will impact more than 34,000 people in Brazil alone by 2017. This commitment, which is integrated into TCCC’s value chain and is co-funded by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund, will enhance opportunities to find employment, create new business enterprises and strengthen the self-confidence of low income residents in affected communities.

Water and Cities: Sharing Challenges and Solutions
Commitment By: Conservation International
Partner(s): Municipality of Rio de Janeiro; City of Bogota; Mexico City
In 2013, Conservation International committed to promote and facilitate a partnership among the cities of Bogota, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro to address the issue of ecosystem degradation resulting from urban growth and land use change, and the effects of climate change. Conservation International will help each city create a local alliance between local, state and/or national level governments, academia, the private sector, development agencies and civil society organizations and support the coordination, funding and management of local programs to protect ecosystems as well as to scale up ongoing activities in each city.

The Amapá Initiative
Commitment By: Conservation International
Partner(s): Amapá State Government; Fundo Vale; Global Conservation Fund
In 2013, Conservation International (CI) committed to supporting the two-year start-up phase of the Brazilian Amazon conservation project Amapá Initiative, an integrated approach for development that builds the capacity of civil society, promotes enabling policies and a strong governance system, and bolsters sustainable production chains in the protected forests. The initiative will help communities access markets and create their own associations with trainings in forest and watershed management. After the start-up phase, CI will implement these activities more broadly across the state of Amapá with the goal of an autonomous, stakeholder-led initiative with a fully capitalized endowment by 2020.

Investing in English Teacher Training Programs in Mexico
Commitment By: Worldfund
Partner(s): Dartmouth College; Credit Suisse; Google Inc.; Marshall Wace Asset Management
In 2013, Worldfund and Dartmouth College committed to expand their successful program, the Inter-American Partnership for Education (IAPE) to improve teacher quality in Mexico through an intensive two-week U.S.-based pedagogical training program. The program brings high-quality English language training to Mexican teachers and ensures language retention, enthusiasm, and learning outcomes in their students. With the opening of a second training site in Mexico, IAPE will double its training to 720 teachers per year in 2016 and will have impacted an estimated 700,000 students per year. After 2016, the program will continue to add an additional 160,000 students per year.

Responsible Fans: Stopping Violence in Football
Commitment By: Republic of Colombia
Partner(s): Fundación Colombianitos; streetfootballworld; Tiempo de Juego; Contexto Urbano
In 2013, the Colombian Ministry of Internal Affairs committed to bring together leaders from barras (football club supporters) and communities most affected by violence associated with football, in an effort to reduce conflict. This project will identify and promote six community engagement initiatives developed in partnership with the young barristas and community leaders, providing conflict resolution training, capacity building and business development skills to support them to develop a joint business plan. Six projects will be selected for implementation by the Ministry and provided with seed funding. The project will be rigorously monitored and evaluated to pave the way for future replication throughout Colombia.

Supporting the Growth of Brazil’s Women-Led SMES
Commitment By: Itaú Unibanco S/A
Partner(s): Inter-American Development Bank; IFC
In 2013, Itaú committed to develop tailored financial products and services to directly meet the needs of women entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Over a two year period, Itaú will recruit 1,500 female entrepreneurs in partnership with the Goldman Sachs Foundation’s ‘Ten Thousand Women’ Program and other businesses. Itaú will work closely with the selected clients to develop products and services that cater directly to their needs. They will also develop and implement an innovative decision-making matrix for risk assessment of women-led SMEs and the lessons learned will be used to adapt the model for future replication in Brazil.

TAKTAKTAK.COM: Learning by Playing
Commitment By: Innova y Moderniza tu Aprendizaje AC (INOMA)
Partner(s): United Mexican States; Grupo BBVA Bancomer; Nacional Monte de Piedad
In 2013, INOMA committed to significantly expand the reach and content of TAKTAKTAK.COM, an online platform that offers free educational games for children, ages 6 to 10. Over a two year period, INOMA will reach 120,000 in Mexico City and in the State of Puebla. Additionally, INOMA will complement the platform with 40 new games that will cover a broader spectrum of the basic education curriculum. Finally, INOMA will develop and implement a predictive algorithm that monitors each user’s learning progress, collecting crucial feedback to improve the games platform and provide educational authorities and institutions with aggregated data which may inform and improve national education strategies.

Social Entrepreneurs Positively Transforming Communities
Commitment By: FEMSA
Partner(s): Ashoka: Innovators for the Public; Technology University of Monterrey; United Mexican States; Universidad del Valle de Mexico; Universidad de Monterrey; Colegio Nacional de Educación Profesional Técnica; Impact Hub; The Pool; GreenMomentum
In 2013, FEMSA committed to promote social entrepreneurship and job creation in Mexico by supporting 520 social entrepreneurship projects over the course of 4 years, with a total investment of $4.5 million dollars. FEMSA will do this by strengthening and expanding the scope of key programs and alliances, including Ashoka’s Youth with Value program, which promotes a social entrepreneurship culture among young students, providing them with tools, counseling, and seed capital. FEMSA will develop a comprehensive entrepreneurship development strategy, which encompasses all stages from idea generation through the launch and early growth of the new companies.

Clean Energy for Latin America and the Caribbean
Commitment By: InterEnergy
In 2013, InterEnergy committed to invest $100 million dollars in equity capital toward renewable energy projects in Latin America and the Caribbean over the course of the next two years. With a focus on solar and wind power, as well potential for some biomass, the combined size of the projects is ultimately expected to surpass $300 million dollars. Using a market-based approach, the commitment will drive sustainable development in the region by both decreasing carbon emissions as well as lowering the price of power for consumers.

Progress on CGI Commitments to Action announced on stage at the meeting include:

Unlocking the Power of Microalgae: A New Source of Sustainable Oil
Commitment By: Solazyme
Partner(s): Unilever, Mitsui, AkzoNobel, Bunge, Sasol
In 2013, Solazyme committed to scaling the production of a new source of sustainable renewable algal oil for use in consumer products. Solazyme will use one of the world’s smallest microbes, microalgae, to help alleviate pressure and environmental damage in fragile equatorial ecosystems through the replacement of palm oil in products with algal oil. Their technology divorces geography from natural oil production so this oil can be produced anywhere at any time, thus alleviating deforestation pressures around the fragile equator band. With its partner in Brazil, Solazyme is building the world’s first fit for purpose renewable oil plant, which, when at full capacity, will have a greenhouse gas reductions impact equivalent to planting 10 million trees a year.

Scaling Up PESCA
Commitment By: PUNTACANA Resort & Club (PCRC)
Partner(s): Dominican Republic; Club Med; University of Miami; Reef Check Foundation; Cap Cana; Counterpart International; Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute; Dominican Council of Fishing and Agriculture (CODOPESCA); Hotel Association of the La Altagracia Province; Juanillo Fishermen’s Association
In 2011, Puntacana Resort & Club, through the Partnership for Ecologically Sustainable Coastal Areas (PESCA), committed to significantly scale up its coral restoration efforts by developing restoration programs in strategic areas throughout the Dominican Republic in order to protect key coral species and to rehabilitate the local reef ecosystems that the tourist industry in Punta Cana depends upon. As of March 2013, 6 coral nurseries have been established in the Dominican Republic totaling more than 1.1 km of linear tissue and more than 1,300 staghorn coral fragments encompassing, 21 distinct traceable genotypes; representing the largest genotypic diversity being tracked for this species in the Caribbean, excluding Florida. In April 2012, the Puntacana Ecological Foundation (PCEF) signed a collaboration agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank to promote coral gardening as a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional tourism and in August 2012, established the Puntacana Marine area as a protected Habitat and Species area. By November 2012 an additional 104 new lobster houses were deployed in a pre-designated 60,000 m2 no fishing zone, on the back reef area of Punta Cana.

A Financially Sustainable Model to Empower Poor, Rural Girls
Commitment By: Fundación Paraguaya
Partner(s): Nike Foundation; Teach a Man To Fish; Teach a Man To Fish; The MasterCard Foundation; Moises Bertoni Foundation (MBF); Sega School
In 2008, Fundacion Paraguay and its partners made a commitment to transform the lives of impoverished girls in rural environments by addressing access to education alongside the environmental degradation in their communities. This was achieved by the piloting of a financially self-sustaining agro-forestry school in Paraguay which transformed girls from poor, farming families into ‘rural entrepreneurs,’ giving them the skills and tools necessary to compete in the market while sustainably managing their land. The goal of this commitment was to expand this successful pilot program worldwide. There are now four girls’ schools replicating this model: one in Paraguay as well three additional countries in East Africa with a total of 501 students enrolled.

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In South Africa, they met up with Hillary who had flown from Washington on Air Force 1 with the Obamas and George W. and Laura Bush.

The memorial reportedly drew 91 heads of state and heads of government. H/T to mynix for sharing this raw footage from the event.

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Video: Hillary Clinton with Brazilian FM Patriota

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Antonio Patriota, Benghazi, Brazil, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, State Department, Syria, U.S. Department of State on October 24, 2012| 2 Comments »

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Remarks With Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota After Their Meeting

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

October 24, 2012

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, hello, everyone. And once again, it is a great delight for me to welcome a colleague and friend here to the State Department. The Foreign Minister and I have had an excellent working relationship. Earlier this year, I traveled to Brazil for the third meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Global Partnership Dialogue as well as the Rio+20 Conference, and I commend the Brazilian Government for its excellent stewardship of the Rio+20 Conference. And today, the Foreign Minister is here for the fourth meeting of the Global Partnership Dialogue.

It is our assessment that this dialogue has strengthened and broadened our relationship and helped us make progress in many areas of shared concern by bringing both our governments and our people closer together. We have not only worked bilaterally but regionally and globally. For example, we have signed Memoranda of Understanding on cooperation in third countries, including in development and food security. We’re working to support greater agricultural development in Honduras.

We are strong supporters of the Brazilian plan, the Scientific Mobility Program, one of President Rousseff’s signature initiatives to send top Brazilian students in science and math to universities abroad. We are similarly focused on implementing President Obama’s initiative, the 100,000 Strong in the Americas, and have welcomed thousands of Brazilian students to the United States and are eager to welcome more. And because social inclusion is critical to both of our societies, we are working together to ensure that we promote social inclusion as part of the missions of our foreign relations as well as, of course, domestically.

We are also working very – in great cooperation in Haiti, and I thank the Minister for the excellent leadership that Brazil has provided for MINUSTAH and so much else that Brazil has done for Haiti.

So there’s a lot that we have covered, and our teams have gone in-depth into. And Antonio, it’s a great pleasure for me to have you here.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: Thank you so much. Let me say how pleased I am to be in Washington for this fourth edition of our Global Partnership Dialogue. We’ve had frequent high-level contacts between Brazil and the United States over the past two years. We were very happy to welcome President Obama last year to Brasilia, and President Dilma was delighted to come to the White House this year. We had two visits by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Brazil: one in the context of the Global Partnership Dialogue and also the Open Government Partnership that we have been working on together; then for Rio+20. And of course, we appreciated greatly the U.S. participation and Secretary Clinton’s statement at the Conference on Sustainable Development.

This is my second time in Washington. We are not only having frequent high-level contacts, but I think the quality of the dialogue has also been improving and more in-depth discussions on issues such as possibilities for cooperation in Africa. This time around, we concentrated on the Middle East and the Far East, and I know that the two Under Secretaries who came with me, they found this extremely useful. So we would like to pursue and institutionalize, as you said, Hillary, this mechanism so that we continue deriving the greatest possible benefit from these discussions.

On the bilateral front, President Dilma, of course, is extremely interested in enhancing our relationship with the United States on science, technology, and innovation. We’re looking forward to two events on innovation in 2013 that come out of this agenda and that will bring in the private sector as well as government officials. We’re very pleased with the advances that we’ve identified in our aviation partnership. There are new initiatives on energy, on sports. If you look at the joint communiqué that we are putting out, it actually is very eloquent on a number of fronts and shows that from April to October there have been many advances. So this is the spirit in which we would like to continue moving forward.

Of course, we’re extremely grateful for the U.S. in their readiness to receive an increasing number of Brazilian students in the sciences. Already 2,400 are studying under the Science Without Borders program. We’d like to take that number to 48,000, and I think we can get there. We can reach this goal.

Let me just mention that on another front, there have been discussions on visas and how to facilitate travel between the two countries. This is a discussion that has started in a new spirit, also under instructions from our leaders, President Obama and President Rousseff, and we are confident that they will continue advancing over the coming years.

Thank you for mentioning Haiti. I think it’s a good example of how Brazil and the United States can work today. And today, we discussed some new ideas for looking at energy in Haiti, food security, trade, business. I am confident that we will also continue cooperating very effectively.

And finally, I think it was very useful for me to have a discussion on the Middle East. We’re, of course, concerned with lack of progress on the peace process between Israel and Palestine. I’ve just come back from the region extremely concerned with the situation in Syria. But I think it’s extremely important that with these discussions we’re having with the United States and a number of – a growing number of countries, among which the Permanent Members of the Security Council, our partners in IBSA, India and South Africa, that we can mobilize international diplomatic strength to resume the peace process and to find a negotiated solution for Syria.

Thank you.

MS. NULAND: We’ll take two today. We’ll start with CNN. Elise Labott, please.

QUESTION: Two per each two people. (Laughter.) Mr. Foreign Minister, it’s nice to see you again. I’m sure you’re following our political campaign with great fanfare, I just want to ask you: We had a debate the other night on foreign policy, and the hemisphere and the continent wasn’t even brought up once. And I’m just wondering, given the robust partnership with Brazil – Brazil’s a rising power – and the cooperation with the region and a lot of other dynamic, growing countries, whether that’s symptomatic of some – of a problem in America that you think this – the American people don’t – aren’t interested in or don’t understand how important this cooperation is.

Secretary Clinton, on Syria, I was wondering if you have any thoughts on the ceasefire, whether you think the government or the rebels will adhere to this. What are you advising the rebels? And whether you think the current Lebanese Government is able to protect the Lebanese sovereignty from getting involved in this Syrian crisis.

And just beg my indulgence, one more – (laughter) – just beg my indulgence. I just want to ask you very quickly about these emails that have surfaced from the State Department on the night of the Benghazi attack. Given the fact that there was some information that an extremist group with links to al-Qaida affiliates was – could have been involved, why wasn’t this more heavily weighed in your assessment in the days after. Thank you. (Laughter.) Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I may forget one or two of the questions.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: Well, briefly on the debate, of course, well, as the two largest democracies in the Americas, we are firm believers in pluralism, and elections are always an interesting moment for us to identify that. (Laughter.) But yes, it’s true that Latin America was not present, to my knowledge, and Brazil was not mentioned, but I think that the debate concentrated really on problem issues and concerns. And today, Brazil, South America in particular, is more of a region of the world that offers solutions than problems. So we interpret that in this positive light.

At the same time, I think it’s very important to note that the contacts have been frequent, at high-level, the quality of the dialogue between Brazil and the United States is improving continuously, the agenda’s broadening, as Secretary Clinton was saying. So we are confident that whoever wins, and it’s up to the American people to choose, the relationship will continue to thrive, and we will have at our disposal a number of dialogues and mechanisms to continue to enhance this relationship.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That was such a good answer. We don’t need any more. (Laughter.) That was brilliant. That’s right, it is about problems, and I can’t say enough to support the Minister’s positive description of our relationship and really what’s happened in our hemisphere, which has been remarkable.

Regarding Syria, let me begin by expressing thanks to Brazil for their support of the Syrian people. This is an important call by Brazil, which has consistently said the government must stop the ongoing violence and has provided much needed humanitarian support. And, in fact, I think it’s right to say that Brazil is home to one of the largest Syrian diasporas anywhere in the world. So they know better than many what is at stake.

Now we’re looking forward to hearing the details of Special Envoy Brahimi’s report to the UN Security Council today. We have been in close touch with him and his team. We support his call for a ceasefire for the Eid al-Adha holiday so that Syrians could celebrate in peace. We’d like to see the violence come to an end, there’s no doubt about this, and we’d like to see a political transition take hold and begin. We’ve been calling for that for more than a year. We worked very hard in Geneva, as you know, some months ago to come up with a framework for ending the violence and beginning a political transition. And we would like to see the Security Council adopt such a framework, but to include some consequences for all parties in the event that there is not a ceasefire respected or a political transition begun.

Now we are supporting and increasingly, actually, that support for the Syrian opposition through nonlethal assistance and training, including working directly with local councils inside Syria so that they can learn what they need to do to serve their people in areas that they have taken over from the regime. And we are also working extremely hard and closely with a number of likeminded countries to help support a leadership council to come out of meetings beginning in Doha in a few weeks so that we can have a leadership structure that endorses inclusion, democratic process, peaceful political transition, and reassure all Syrians, particularly those who are in minority groups, that there is a path forward if everyone supports it. And that’s of particular concern to us, and I discussed it with Antonio. And we want to make it possible for there to be a credible interlocutor representing the opposition and prevent extremists from hijacking a brave revolution that is meant to fulfill the aspirations of the Syrian people.

Now, you’re right to raise Lebanon because it was a terrible blow to the Lebanese people one more time to see a high-level assassination carried out by a brutal bombing that devastated a neighborhood in Beirut and killed others and injured many more. I spoke with the Prime Minister over the weekend to express our condolences. We were asked for support to provide FBI investigative services, and we will – and are doing so. The Lebanese armed forces has actually performed admirably in restoring order, in going after anyone who is attempting to commit violence or disrupt that order, and urging all parties to remain calm. We don’t want to see a vacuum of legitimate political authority that could then be taken advantage of by the Syrians or by others that could create even greater instability and violence. So we call on all parties in Lebanon to support the process that President Suleiman is leading to choose a responsible, effective government that can address the threats that Syria faces and hold accountable those responsible for last week’s bombing.

So we’re not going to prejudge the outcome of what the Syrians themselves are attempting to do. This must be a Lebanese process. But the Lebanese people deserve so much better. They deserve to live in peace and they deserve to have a government that reflects their aspirations, not acts as proxies and agents for outside forces.

Now finally, on Benghazi, look, I’ve said it and I’ll say it one more time. No one wants to find out what happened more than I do. We are holding ourselves accountable to the American people, because not only they, but our brave diplomats and development experts serving in dangerous places around the world, deserve no less. The independent Accountability Review Board is already hard at work looking at everything – not cherry-picking one story here or one document there – but looking at everything, which I highly recommend as the appropriate approach to something as complex as an attack like this.

Posting something on Facebook is not in and of itself evidence, and I think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be. What I keep in mind is that four brave Americans were killed, and we will find out what happened, we will take whatever measures are necessary to fix anything that needs to be fixed, and we will bring those to justice who committed these murders. And I think that that is what we have said, that is what we are doing, and I’m very confident that we will achieve those goals.

MS. NULAND: Last one today, Luis Fernandez (inaudible) from Globo TV, please.

QUESTION: Minister Patriota, Madam Secretary, I would follow the example of my colleague.

SECRETARY CLINTON: (Laughter.) Don’t pick up bad habits, please.

QUESTION: Minister, if I – if you don’t mind, I would ask the question in English and be so – if you could give the answer in Portuguese. This is, as one would assume, the very last time that the two of you meet at these particular posts that you are holding. Are you – is – are you less than happy with the fact that Brazil and the United States do not have a trade agreement? I would like to know as well, when will Americans be able to get into Brazil without a visa and Brazilians get in to the United States without a visa?

Madam Secretary, once Brazil and Turkey brokered a solution to the problem of Iran, and that was an initiative that was met with less than enthusiasm. If Brazil were to broker a solution for the problem in Syria, since there is this partnership established with Turkey and, as you pointed out, Brazil has many Lebanese and Syrians in Brazil, how would the United States Government react to that?

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

I essentially said that the absence of a free trade agreement does not prevent trade between Brazil and the United States from thriving. In fact, the figures have been better than those for countries with which the U.S. does have free trade agreements. The visa situation is being discussed in a constructive way, and even in the absence of an agreement on foregoing visas, the days that are taken for the processing have diminished considerably at U.S. consulates and Brazilian consulates. There are new consulates that the United States has opened in Brazil to help processing, and Brazil has 10 consulates in the United States.

And on Syria, I just mentioned our support for the communiqué of the Geneva Action Group, which we believes continues to provide a good platform for progress through peaceful, non-militarized means.

SECRETARY CLINTON: He’s an all-purpose Foreign Minister. (Laughter.) I’m very grateful to you.

And on your question, we would, of course, welcome Brazilian participation in any effort to bring about the ceasefire, to implement it, to help with the political transition. The Minister and I discussed the ways in which both the United States and Brazil, as large pluralistic democracies, stand as examples for what we hope could come someday in Syria.

So the Minister mentioned the communiqué that came out of Geneva as a result of our meeting there several months ago. I’m in close touch with Special Envoy Brahimi. And we are looking for a way to support his work, and this kind of framework will need the strong support of Brazil, which has a very important voice in trying to resolve this ongoing tragic situation.

Thank you all very much.

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Hillary Clinton at the Presentation of Human Rights Defenders Award in Kampala

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Human Rights, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Africa, Brazil, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Human Rights, Kampala, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State, Uganda on August 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Remarks at Presentation of Human Rights Defenders Award

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

U.S. Embassy

Kampala, Uganda

August 3, 2012

Thank you so much. Well, I am very pleased to be here once again in Kampala and to have the opportunity to present the State Department’s 2011 Human Rights Defenders Award to not just one person, but to a coalition of groups that are standing up for human rights and setting an example for how civil society can work together in common cause.

Now I know our meeting has been months in the making, but I am so delighted to be here in person to meet each of you – some of you I’ve met before, but not all of you – and to put everybody’s face and name and organization together.

Since I became Secretary, we have worked to elevate the role of civil society, and especially groups that promote human rights. And so we want to be your partners as well to help bend the arc of history toward justice and to help more people lead lives of dignity and opportunity. The work you are doing is helping to make human rights a human reality. You are tearing down barriers that prevent people from enjoying the full measure of liberty, the full experience of dignity, the full benefits of humanity. And this coalition shows what can happen when brave change-makers come together.

I’ve said before it is critical for all Ugandans – the government and citizens alike – to speak out against discrimination, harassment, and intimidation of anyone. That’s true no matter where they come from, what they believe, or whom they love. And no one has been a stronger champion than all of you. You’ve been organized, disciplined, and savvy. You have marshaled the evidence and made the arguments using the rights enshrined in Uganda’s constitution and in international law. And by doing so, you are a model for others and an inspiration to the world.

I’m well aware that you do your work often amidst difficult, even dangerous circumstances. I know that some of your lives have been threatened, your friends and families intimidated. But I want you to know that the United States is and will be your partner. I raised these issues with President Museveni today, because this isn’t just about carving out special privileges for any one group; this is about making sure universal rights are protected for all people. A violation of anyone’s rights is a violation of everyone’s rights.

Standing up for human rights is not always popular, but it is always honorable. And I am delighted to present you with this award to celebrate the work of this coalition to defend the human rights of all Ugandans.

Let me come over here, and we’ll have a picture. (Applause.)

In this photo taken, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton applauds members of the Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, or “Coalition”, which opposes anti-homosexuality

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Hillary Clinton: Wheels Up Brazil

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Brazil, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on April 17, 2012| 6 Comments »

Next stop: Brussels.

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Secretary Clinton at the Open Government Partnership in Brasilia

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Brasilia, Brazil, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Open Government Partnership, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on April 17, 2012| 8 Comments »

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Remarks at the Open Government Partnership Opening Session

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Brasilia, Brazil

April 17, 2012

Thank you very much, and it’s a great pleasure to be here at this first high-level conference of the Open Government Partnership. And I want to commend and thank Brazil, in particular President Rousseff, for the leadership that they have given to this initiative.

As co-chair of the Open Government Partnership for the past year, Brazil and the United States have had a front-row seat to see how swiftly and enthusiastically the community of nations has come together. Fifty-five countries now belong, 47 of which joined in the past eight months alone. A quarter of the world’s people now live in OGP countries, each of which has outlined concrete, credible steps that it will take to open the work of government so citizens are empowered, problems are solved, democracy is strengthened.

I particularly want to thank the Brazilian team. Minister Hage, thank you for your leadership, along with Under Secretary Maria Otero of the State Department. The two of you have worked very hard leading this process, and we are grateful. I want to thank my colleague and friend, the foreign minister of Brazil, and also welcome the other foreign ministers who are representing their country. And we are particularly pleased that the president of Tanzania and the prime minister of Georgia are here, and you will hear from them shortly.

I also want to recognize Minister Maude from the United Kingdom, which will serve as the next co-chair along with Brazil. And I’m confident that this partnership will continue to glow – grow and flourish.

Let me also offer a special welcome to the hundreds of civil society organizations represented here. This is called the Open Government Partnership, but it is equally a partnership with civil society. The mission of OGP is one that civil society has long fought for, and therefore, we need civil society to have an equal stake and an equal voice, because without your advocacy and expertise, this enterprise simply cannot succeed.

When President Rousseff and President Obama launched the Open Government Partnership last fall on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, six other founding governments and eight civil society organizations were present. At that time, President Obama made clear that the purpose of the Open Government Partnership was to advance specific initiatives to promote transparency, fight corruption, and energize civic engagement and to leverage new technologies so that we strengthen the foundation of freedom in our own countries while living up to ideals that can light the world.

In the 21^st century, the United States is convinced that one of the most significant divisions among nations will not be north/south, east/west, religious, or any other category so much as whether they are open or closed societies. We believe that countries with open governments, open economies, and open societies will increasingly flourish. They will become more prosperous, healthier, more secure, and more peaceful.

By contrast, those governments that hide from public view and dismiss the idea of openness and the aspirations of their people for greater freedom will find it increasingly difficult to maintain peace and security. Those countries that attempt to monopolize economic activity or make it so difficult for individuals to open their own businesses, they will find it increasingly hard to prosper. And those societies that believe they can be closed to change, to ideas, cultures, and beliefs that are different from theirs, will find quickly that in our internet world they will be left behind.

I know we don’t need to make the case for openness to you. You’re here. But what we have to do is make a convincing case that those of us who have joined up to the Open Government Partnership really mean what we say. It’s not enough to assert that we are committed to openness. We have to deliver on the commitments that we have made.

Let me mention a few examples of how that is already occurring. Chile, Estonia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Peru, Romania, Spain, and Tanzania are all creating websites to make public data available to citizens on everything from crime statistics to political party financing to local budgets and procurement.

Bulgaria, Croatia, and Tanzania are creating “citizens’ budgets,” to explain in plain, accessible language how public resources are spent.

Ukraine, the Slovak Republic, Montenegro are introducing “e-petitions” on websites to make it easier for citizens to send their ideas and opinions directly to policymakers, and I want to commend the Slovak Republic and Montenegro for also introducing whistle-blowing protection laws to ensure that those who expose corruption are not punished or harmed.

Now other countries have also pledged to make the location and status of natural resources transparent, map the location of water access points, pass national anticorruption legislation, create innovation funds for development of technologies that support openness, strengthen protections for the media, create social networking websites on drug trafficking so citizens can anonymously and safely report suspicious activity.

These initiatives are designed to reduce corruption because we know corruption kills a country’s potential. It drains resources. It protects dishonest leaders. It takes away people’s drive to improve themselves or their communities. So the cure for corruption is openness, and by belonging to the Open Government Partnership, every country here is sending a message to their own people that we will stand for openness. And we’re going to hold ourselves accountable. As this process moves forward, we’re going to have to have report cards about whether we are living up to our own pledges of openness or not.

Now for our part, the United States is committed to 26 initiatives designed to increase public integrity, promote public participation, improve public services, and do a better job of managing public resources. We are joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to bring more transparency to our oil, gas, and mining industries, and you’ll hear more about this from my colleague, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, later today.

Additionally, I announced in Busan, South Korea that we will join the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We’ve created websites where people can get clear information about government regulations and consumer information on products and services, and we’ve launched a website where citizens can send a petition directly to the White House. This adds up to a collection of far-reaching, practical, and, we believe, achievable ideas, and that’s important. Because if ideas just remain theoretical, they are not much use to anyone, so we need to match our aspirations with our actions.

Now one theme running through these national action plans is technology, because in the digital age, we now have tools that previous generations of open government advocates couldn’t even dream of. New technologies make it both possible and useful to do things that were once impractical or prohibitively expensive, like releasing enormous quantities of public data, or making national budgets easily available online. And of course, new connection technologies empower citizens to connect with one another and their leaders, as we have seen in this past year of the era of awakening.

I’ve seen how technology is transforming the way that we and other nations do diplomacy and development, and later today, I will be sending policy guidance to every U.S. Embassy worldwide on modernizing technology through diplomacy. We want to open up the State Department not only to U.S. citizens, but to people everywhere, because in keeping with the principles of open government and this partnership, we believe that when people are empowered to speak their minds and leaders are held to account for their actions, we all do better.

But of course, technology isn’t some kind of magic wand. Ultimately, it is political will that determines whether or not we hold ourselves accountable. Corruption, closed doors, the consolidation of power, these are as old as human nature itself. The new tools of the digital age will not change human nature. Only we can do that. But through this partnership, we can advance progress together.

My country, like those represented here, were founded on noble ideals. President Lincoln memorably described our government as of the people, by the people, and for the people. And these words ring true as to what all of us believe government should be and should do. As we’ve seen in this past year, the remarkable events in North Africa and elsewhere have really opened that potential wider than ever, and I am personally so pleased that we have, as a member of the Open Government Partnership and represented here at this conference, representatives from the Government of Libya, a government that before this year could never have participated in an Open Government Partnership.

So we now have a chance to set a new global standard for good governance and to strengthen a global ethos of transparency and accountability. And there is no better partner to have started this effort and to be leading it than Brazil, and in particular, President Rousseff. Her commitment to openness, transparency, her fight against corruption is setting a global standard. So the United States is proud to be co-chairing with Brazil, and we intend to do all we can to help make the Open Government Partnership a leader in ensuring that the 21^st century is an era of openness, transparency, accountability, freedom, democracy, and results for people everywhere. Thank you. (Applause.)

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Secretary Clinton With Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Brazil, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on April 17, 2012| 4 Comments »

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Remarks With Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Itamaraty Palace

Brasilia, Brazil

April 16, 2012

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Antonio. And it is a great pleasure, as always, to be back in Brazil, especially just one week after the very constructive meeting that was held between our two presidents. We have deepened and broadened our cooperation on so many issues, and our Global Partnership Dialogue is now bringing together our experts on both sides to discuss in depth what we can do advance our cooperation on the economy, on education, on some of the key challenges such as cyber security that we are both dealing with.

And it is exciting for us to be in this partnership because we have a long history together. In the 19^th century when Brazil won its independence, the U.S. was the first country to recognize Brazil. And in the 20^th century, when a U.S. Secretary of State made the first ever official visit to a foreign country, it was to Brazil – Secretary Elihu Root, who came here in 1906. So we now – Antonio and I decided that we have to have a 21^st century partnership, the time for us to be really looking at the opportunities and challenges we face and how we can do better together.

A week ago, Antonio and I were together in Washington at a standing-room-only business meeting at the United States Chamber of Commerce. And earlier today, I was privileged to speak to a business group of Brazilian business leaders. We know that we’re making progress in bilateral trade and investment, creating jobs for both of our peoples, but there’s more to do. I will be sending an innovation delegation to Brazil later this year with some of our top entrepreneurs, educators, and tech leaders to meet with their Brazilian counterparts.

And this is – in addition to the very exciting partnerships which President Rousseff highlighted when she was in the United States, particularly with her visits to Harvard and MIT, through the Science without Borders initiative, Brazil will send 100,000 students to study science and technology at foreign universities. Many of them will be welcomed in the United States. And we, in turn, under President Obama’s initiative, 100,000 Strong, want to send a hundred thousand U.S. students to Latin American universities. And of course, we expect many to come here to Brazil.

In the meeting this afternoon, we received an update on the U.S.-Brazil global partnership. We discussed Latin America, of course. We discussed Africa. We discussed some of the hotspot issues at the time, now of Iran, Syria, and so much else. But I think it’s important to emphasize that at the heart of this partnership are values. We are two of the largest democracies in the world, two of the most diverse countries in the world. We share a commitment to opportunity for all people. And tomorrow, President Rousseff and I will kick off the high-level meeting of the Open Government Partnership here in Brasilia, which she and President Obama launched eight months ago. This Open Government Partnership is intended to fight corruption, promote transparency, empower citizens to make the case that both Brazil and the United States believe so strongly that democracy delivers results for people.

So it’s exciting that we’re building these habits of cooperation between our governments, our private sectors, our universities, our civil societies, and our citizens. And I’m looking forward to the work ahead. We’ve set up a very busy agenda for ourselves, but we are committed to doing everything we can to help lay the foundation for this 21^st century partnership.

Thank you, Antonio.

MODERATOR: (In Portuguese.)

QUESTION: (In Portuguese.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, let me say that the United States absolutely admires Brazil’s growing leadership and its aspiration to join the United Nations Security Council as a permanent member. We believe that the long-term viability of the United Nations Security Council depends upon updating it to the 21^st century to recognizing that it has to reflect the world that exists today, not the world that existed when it was formed. So for that reason, we are committed to serious, deliberate reform efforts in the UN, not only on the Security Council, but frankly, in a number of areas of UN process and functioning.

And in fact, I think we believe that the United States has shown a greater commitment to real UN reform than many of our counterparts on the Security Council. But we also have learned that until other countries are committed to UN reform, we’re not going to make the progress that we need, and I think it would be very hard to imagine a future UN Security Council that wouldn’t include a country like Brazil with all of its progress and the great model it represents of a democracy that is progressing and providing opportunity for its people.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.

QUESTION: On Afghanistan, a number of U.S. officials have said that the Haqqani Network is behind the attack in Kabul and elsewhere over the weekend. In your conversation with Foreign Minister Khar, what sense did she give you that the Pakistanis would be willing to go after the Haqqani Network? (Inaudible) deepen counterterrorism involvement, but it’s fallen by the wayside.

And if I may on North Korea – (laughter) – double (inaudible) questions. You spoke to Foreign Minister Yang on Friday, and I was wondering what sense you got from him (inaudible) pressure on North Korea, who was about to go ahead with the nuclear test.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first with regard to Afghanistan, the United States strongly condemns yesterday’s cowardly attacks. Once again, we extend our condolences to the victims and their families. I spoke to Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Kabul yesterday, first to check to see how everyone was doing. Thankfully, despite the attacks, the Embassy and our personnel associated with it were safe. We also were impressed by and I conveyed my appreciation to the Afghan National Security Forces for the effective response which they provided. Remember, they were in the lead on this. They were the ones who ended the sieges, captured the insurgents, and are in the process of compiling evidence about the nature and origin of this attack.

Now, I think it’s fair to say that despite how contemptible these attacks were, they were not successful. They were another failed effort by extremists to try to undermine the slow but steady progress that Afghanistan is making to stability. And as the transition to security leadership by the Afghans themselves continues, we know there will be more challenges, because it’s not in the interests of all of these adversaries to see Afghanistan be able to provide security for itself. So they will continue to test, they will continue to assassinate, they will continue to attack, and we are going to stand with the people and the Government of Afghanistan. We are going to continue to work with the Afghan National Security Forces along with our NATO-ISAF partners, and we believe and we have evidence of this that the insurgency is failing despite their ability to launch spectacular attacks from time to time.

The investigation over the origin of these attacks is ongoing, but there are already indications of Haqqani involvement. The Haqqani Network is a very determined foe of the stability, security, and peace of the Afghan people. So we’ll see what the full investigation shows, but it’s not premature to refer to the evidence that is being compiled.

When I spoke with the Pakistan foreign minister, Foreign Minister Khar today, I certainly expressed my strong conviction that there has to be a concerted effort by the Pakistanis with the Afghans, with the others of us, against extremists of all kinds whether they threaten the Pakistani people, the Afghan people, or the American Embassy. And when I was in Pakistan last October, I made it very clear both publicly and privately that Pakistan had to work with us to squeeze the Haqqani Network. And I’m going to continue to make that point, to press it hard, and our consultations with the Pakistanis are proceeding, but the Haqqani Network is a threat to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the people of the region. So we’re going to take it very seriously.

With respect to North Korea, look, we are working to ensure that the new North Korean leadership hears unequivocally from the international community that their provocative behavior will not be rewarded, and the fact that the UN Security Council unanimously approved a presidential statement deploring the North Korea failed satellite launch underscores that it violated UN resolutions and that these actions constitute a threat to regional peace and security and that there will be consequences to this behavior. There unfortunately have to be consequences.

We very much, very much hope to see a different attitude from the Government of North Korea – not with the United States or Japan or South Korea first and foremost, but for their own people. And so as you may know, we were negotiating the potential of trying to assist them and had reached agreement with them to try to provide nutritional assistance since they cannot feed their own people. Unfortunately, they decided to launch this – or to attempt to launch this missile, which was clearly in violation of the UN Security Council. So the Security Council has directed the North Korean Sanctions Committee to designate more North Korean companies for asset freezes to identify further sensitive nuclear and missile technologies that will be banned from sale to Pyongyang, among other measures. And we have all agreed – that includes China – that there will be further consequences if they pursue another provocative action.

So let me say this again: Here in Brasilia, a country that has demonstrated what good leadership, what a partnership between the people and the government can produce, the new, young leadership of North Korea has a very stark choice. They need to take a hard look at their policies, stop the provocative action, open to the rest of the world, work to educate their people, feed their people, put their people first ahead of their ambitions to be a nuclear power, and rejoin the international community. We would welcome that.

QUESTION: (In Portuguese.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me begin, and then perhaps the minister would also add some comments.

I did meet with Graca Foster this morning and came away very impressed with her personally and also with the commitment Petrobras has to maximizing the benefits for the Brazilian people of the extraordinary potential of the pre-salt deepwater reserves. And we discussed a long list of issues, because what Brazil is doing is complicated and demanding, expensive, and there are ways in which our government and our international oil companies, along with others from elsewhere in the world who have expertise and experience, technologies, innovative approaches, can partner with Petrobras under the conditions that are set by the Brazilian Government. She is a very knowledgeable person and extremely practical. She knows that a lot of what is going to be happening in deepwater drilling off the coast of Brazil will take a very high level of investment. And insofar as it is possible, the United States and our companies stand ready to participate.

We discussed Chevron. Obviously, we want to be a good partner to Petrobras and Brazil. There are problems in deepwater drilling. We suffered through them in our own Gulf of Mexico. So we know how challenging this path is, but we also know how important it is for Brazil to do this. And it was an excellent discussion. We had some of our experts with us. We’re setting up an ongoing dialogue to get very practical. I am not the person to talk to about wellheads, but there are a lot of people in our government and in our private sector who you could talk to about wellheads and different pressures and the like.

So I think she put it well. She said she wanted a very material agenda, that we would talk about what Petrobras’s needs were; and insofar as we had anything to offer, we would make that available. And it’s of course up to Petrobras and the Brazilian Government to decide the way forward.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

QUESTION: (Inaudible) Argentina, Madam Secretary. (Inaudible) Argentina (inaudible)?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh. Well, I think that’s going to be a decision that will be rightly debated, and I’m not going to offer an opinion. I don’t know all the details. But I think competition and having an open market for energy and other commodities is a much preferable model. And the decisions that are taken by nations are ones that they have to justify and live with. But clearly, I think the model of openness, outreach, competition, market access are ones that have proven successful the world over.

MODERATOR: Reuters, last question.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, in Syria violence is clearly still continuing. There are reports of four people killed in Homs, (inaudible) the two in Hama, all today. Given that the ceasefire seems to be unraveling before it’s even managed to take hold, you must be thinking about what to do if it does indeed fail to take hold. How do you plan to respond (inaudible)?

And on Iran, the Iranian foreign minister said that if the P-5+1 were to start – start easing sanctions, it would be much easier to resolve the nuclear issue. (Inaudible) sanctions before Iran ceases uranium enrichment, as is called for in so many UN Security Council resolutions?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Arshad, I’m not going to prejudge the outcome of the process in Syria, because the first tranche of UN monitors is beginning to deploy today. Clearly the burden is on the Assad regime to demonstrate their commitment to all aspects of Kofi Annan’s six-point plan. And we’re not interested in your promises; we’re not interested in new conditions or new excuses. We want action. I think the world wants action. That’s why the Security Council acted in a unified way to support Kofi Annan’s initiative.

Much of Syria is quieter, but I agree with you that the people of Homs continue to endure renewed shelling by the regime. So we know the ceasefire is not complete, but it appears as though the violence is down significantly. So rather than setting conditions on the monitors, what the Assad regime needs to do is to make clear that they’re going to silence their guns, withdraw their troops, and work toward fulfilling the six-point plan. That means, as it has always meant, pulling out of the towns and cities; allowing peaceful demonstrations like what we saw over the weekend, where thousands of Syrians came out to demonstrate peacefully; releasing political prisoners; and allowing a peaceful transition to begin.

So this week will be critical in evaluating the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2024. And we’re hoping for the best. We want to see a peaceful period for the people of Syria and we want to see a political process begin. But if violence is renewed, if the regime reverts to shelling its own people and causing a great deal of death and injury, then we’re going to have to get back to planning what our next step is. So we’re planning for a good outcome, positive results, and we’re talking with others on the Security Council and beyond about what would be next steps if that does not prove successful.

Switching to Iran, look; the initial discussions between the P-5+1 and Iran were serious and focused on the nuclear issue. The P-5+1 was unified in calling for Iran to demonstrate the peaceful intent of its nuclear program and to fully comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Iran agrees that the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty should serve as the framework for the discussions going forward, and we set the next round for Baghdad for the end of May.

We want this to be a sustained effort. Between now and the next round, there will be experts meetings, there will planning, and we have to address the concerns of the international community. We’re going to take this one step at a time; but clearly, any process would have to have reciprocal expectations and actions, and there has to be evidence by Iran that they would be seriously moving toward removing a lot of their nuclear ambiguities that exists now, that they would be much more open and transparent, and they would take steps to respond to the UN Security Council resolutions and the international community’s concerns.

So we are watching. You’ve heard me say before I believe in action for action. But I think in this case, the burden of action falls on the Iranians to demonstrate their seriousness. And we’re going to keep the sanctions in place and the pressure on Iran as they consider what they’ll bring to the table in Baghdad, and we’ll respond accordingly.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

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SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Public Schedule for April 17, 2012

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Brazil, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on April 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Public Schedule for April 17, 2012

Public Schedule

Washington, DC

April 17, 2012

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PUBLIC SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel in Brasilia, Brazil. Secretary Clinton is accompanied by Under Secretary Otero, Assistant Secretary Jacobson, Assistant Secretary Fernandez, Spokesperson Nuland, Director Sullivan, and VADM Harry B. Harris, Jr., JCS. Please click here for more information.

10:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton participates in the Open Government Partnership Opening Session, in Brasilia, Brazil.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

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Secretary Clinton’s Remarks at the National Confederation of Industries Brasilia

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Images, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Brasilia, Brazil, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, National Confederation of Industries, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on April 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

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Business Leaders Lunch, posted with vodpod

Remarks at the Business Leaders’ Lunch

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

National Confederation of Industries

Brasilia, Brazil

April 16, 2012

Thank you very much. And it is, for me, a great pleasure to be here in Brasilia with leaders from government and business who are committed to strengthening the ties between our two countries.

And I am so pleased that I could be here only one week after some of you were in Washington at the event that was held there for businesses and the very successful visit of President Dilma Rousseff to Washington with President Obama. I see some faces that I saw in the crowd at the American Chamber of Commerce when I addressed you just a week ago, which is no surprise to me, because this is such a critical partnership in so many dimensions. And the economic dimension is growing increasingly important, not only to the two countries that are represented here, but indeed to the region and the world.

As many of you know, last year, trade between Brazil and the United States reached nearly $75 billion, much of that in sectors that are driving innovation and creating jobs in both our countries. And Brazilian investment in the United States has grown considerably in recent years, now standing at 15.5 billion, making it one of the largest sources of investment from Latin America.

So this partnership is already benefitting both countries, and I thank the National Confederation of Industry and our co-hosts from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for working to strengthen economic ties. But I’m here because I think we can do so much more. I believe that the opportunities and potential for greater investment, trade, growth, and jobs is only now being tapped.

I was delighted this morning to meet with Gracas Foster, the head of Petrobras, to talk about the exciting future that lies ahead of Brazil because of the extraordinary reserves on your coastline. And this opportunity carries with it a lot of responsibility, which she is shouldering. Of course, for me, it’s exciting to be in a country where the head of your government and the head of your oil company are both led by such visionary, hard-working leaders who happen to be women. That’s a good – another good way in which Brazil is leading.

It was 96 years ago today – this very day – that the U.S. Chamber opened its doors in Brazil. American companies like General Electric were just beginning to explore markets beyond America’s border. And those industrial pioneers knew that doing business in foreign countries required support and a structure for building relationships with governments and the private sector. What was true then is true today. CNI and AmCham are both instrumental in maintaining the relationships among the private sector and the Brazilian and U.S. governments.

But a lot has changed in 96 years. Economic issues have become even more central to our engagement with other countries. And increasingly, a goal of U.S. foreign policy is to drive economic growth; drive it for ourselves, of course, but drive it regionally and globally. We call that economic statecraft. How do we create conditions for open and fair economic activity among countries so every country, and even every individual, has a chance to compete?

Now, of course, a country’s economic strength in turn shapes its foreign policy and, more broadly, its role in the world. If our economies are prosperous and dynamic, we are able to invest more resources in our own people. We’re also able to be good stewards of the global economy, and the whole idea of a global economic order based on the rule of law and transparency and fair and open competition advances.

Now certainly the United States and Brazil understand the complex entanglement of all these issues. What happens to one of us affects every other country in the Americas. And as the hemisphere’s two largest democracies, we understand that our values must guide the way we exercise economic power. A vibrant private sector and strong economic ties with our partners are good for business, but also good for our people.

I think one of the reasons Brazil is so widely admired in the world today is not just because you are getting richer, which you are, not just because you’re growing a middle class, which you are, but because you have committed to lifting Brazilians out of poverty, because you are opening doors of opportunity for children – no matter who their parents, no matter where they’re from – to have the same chance that every other child in Brazil would have.

Now, I often describe a successful society as being like a three-legged stool. One leg has to be responsible, accountable, inclusive government. One has to be a strong, well-functioning private sector, essential for creating wealth and jobs to grow the economy. And the third leg has to be a robust civil society that speaks out for those who can’t speak for themselves, who speak for not only people living in poverty, who are victims of discrimination or lack of education or healthcare, but also speak out for the environment, which we have all inherited, and to help hold government and business accountable when their rights are being ignored.

Now, if those three legs are out of balance, the stool can’t stand up. If any leg is weak – if government is corrupt, if civil society is stifled, if the private sector is irresponsible – the stool will collapse.

Brazil’s success story is a model of three strong legs and a very strong stool, fair and balanced, a strong economy translating into shared prosperities. Brazil has ascended to the world stage as an emerging economic dynamo, lifting millions of Brazilians into the middle class while maintaining and improving democratic institutions.

But for either of our countries, there is no guarantee that progress or prosperity will continue. It is our job to answer this question: In a time of economic uncertainty and a constantly changing global marketplace, how do we maintain economic momentum and growth that fuels inclusive sustainable prosperity in both our countries?

Well, a big part of the answer is innovation. That’s why Brazil and the United States are making innovation a key element of our bilateral relationship. That was highlighted during President Rousseff’s trip to Washington last week. And we are putting these words and these aspirations into actions.

For example, in January of this year, Microsoft opened a new technology and innovation center in Brazil, its largest in Latin America, as an incubator for new ideas, where students, NGO leaders, entrepreneurs can access cutting-edge technology. One of the first projects to spring from this facility is new software that transforms spoken words into sign language.

Meanwhile, Boeing is partnering with the Inter-American Development Bank and Embraer to develop a sustainable supply chain of biofuels for aviation. And this project will establish a research and development center where teams will go work to develop a cost-effective way to convert sugarcane into airplane fuel. I don’t need to tell you that Brazil is at the forefront of biofuels, and what you have done over 30-plus years now to produce sugarcane ethanol into manmade use has been extraordinary. But now we want to tackle the problem of aviation fuel together and see what we can do.

Cisco is investing half a billion dollars here over the next three years to create a center focused on IT entrepreneurship. Cisco and its partners will work with startups to develop and manufacture technology to support efforts in urban development, public safety, education, and health.

So the American companies seeking to expand in Brazil are investing the research and development that will underpin the 21^st century economy. And our two governments are eager to see these efforts succeed. Now the government won’t pick winners or losers, and government cannot do the innovation and the technological development that the private sector must do, but governments can work closely with business leaders to create the conditions where these ideas can take hold.

Just last month, the third Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology took place here in Brasilia. Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Marco Antonio Raupp and Dr. John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor, met with private sector representatives to discuss how we can better foster innovation and competitiveness. And later this year, I will send an innovation delegation to Brazil made up of some of our top entrepreneurs, educators, and tech leaders to meet with their Brazilian counterparts to discuss how we can support a thriving innovation ecosystem here in Brazil.

We consider private sector innovation so important because the knowledge and technology developed are not only good for a company’s bottom line, they help us meet the challenges of our time: clean energy development, urban renewal, food security, efficient and effective governance. So when companies move forward with kind of innovative new initiatives I’m describing, they’re doing more than creating jobs; they are helping to create the economy of the future. We’re also working together about how to promote sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. We’re working together in counternarcotics enforcement. So we have a lot on our agendas.

One of the most exciting efforts was a partnership between the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, and IBM. Mayor Paes saw that the city’s 30 separate government agencies didn’t have a way to communicate and share information efficiently. That is a problem for every government, I will confess. But he knew that poor coordination was wasteful and hindered the efficient use of government resources to serve people. So he worked with an IBM, a unit called “Smarter Cities,” to develop a first of its kind ever operations center. Now data from all those agencies is compiled and stored in one place. This is obviously a very promising new venture for IBM that we expect to see replicated around the world, but is also helping Rio prepare for the World Cup and the Olympics and operate in a smarter, effective way.

Now, the difference between a great idea that stays an idea and one that’s actually implemented and yields results has a lot to do with people-to-people ties. And we need to do more to foster connections between the people of Brazil and the United States so we can all find more ways to work together and to seek common ground and common solutions. So we’re excited by the programs we are setting up to encourage more student exchanges.

President Rousseff has launched her Science without Borders initiative to send 100,000 Brazilian students abroad to study science and technology in foreign universities, and many will come to the United States during the next four years. She visited Harvard and MIT during her time in the U.S. last week, and we cannot wait to welcome Brazil’s future scientists to our country. President Obama has announced a similar effort to send 100,000 U.S. students to universities in Latin America, including in Brazil.

But this effort needs to go beyond student exchanges. There are 50 million at-risk young people across Latin America and the Caribbean who don’t have the training or education they will need to compete in a modern economy. To that end, the United States is investing in the New Employment Opportunities Partnership. And the International Youth Foundation is working with private sector partners – including Microsoft, Walmart, Caterpillar, and others – to launch a series of hiring and mentoring projects across Latin America. This initiative aims to train 1 million disadvantaged youth across the region during the next 10 years.

We were just at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, and one of the common concerns expressed by leaders, particularly the fast-growing economies in Latin America, is that there are jobs in all of our countries, including the United States. But there are not often the people where the jobs are to fill the jobs. They don’t have the skills, they’re not in the right geographic location. So when you have all these companies advertising more engineers and technicians and other skilled workers and the jobs are not being filled and yet our employment rate remains stubbornly high, that’s a problem throughout our hemisphere. And so we have to be smart about how we bridge those gaps so that companies can get the employees you need in a timely way.

We’re also happy to see travel increasing between our two countries. I see a lot of Brazilian tourists on the street when I’m in New York, and it looks like everybody’s having a good time. (Laughter.) Well, how could you not in New York? But Brazilian tourists spent nearly $7 billion on travel and tourism-related goods in the U.S. last year. That’s a rise of nearly 150 percent since 2009. Now we want to see more tourism, and we want to see the efficiency of our processing tourists increase, so President Obama and I will work together to increase our capacity to process visas from the two countries where demand is highest – Brazil and China. And we are opening new American consulates in two states. One governor is here. We’re expanding the flights between Brazil and the United States to make sure our airlines can keep up with demand. So we are very excited about what this can offer.

So as I look at where we stand in our new, more durable, stronger, deeper relationship, I know we’ve got to keep exploring new avenues for growth, but we also have to solve some of the problems that were mentioned. We need to redouble our efforts to conclude a double taxation treaty. We need to explore a bilateral investment treaty. We need to consider in the future free trade agreements. We need to look at how the United States and Brazil can anchor economic growth and democratic values not only for the region, but around the world.

We all know there is competition and comparison going on. There are those, who work for some countries, who say it would be much more efficient if you didn’t have democracies, if you just made a decision from the top down, and boy would we grow, everybody get out of our way. Well, I think Brazil and the U.S. have it right. As challenging as democracy can be – and we’ve been at this a very long time, and we know how difficult improving and perfecting democracy is – can you imagine our two countries with our diverse populations, with our tendency for people to speak their minds, thinking that we can do anything other than keep focused on democracy? And I think we’ve done pretty well, so I think we can have our own case to date that our economic growth, rooted in democracy and our values, will certainly withstand whatever might come in the future. And we will look for ways to send those messages to other countries in our work, for example, to support development in Africa.

So for me, it’s a great pleasure to be here to reiterate the messages of friendship and partnership that our two presidents conveyed last Monday, to once again highlight the strong economic partnership and business-to-business relationship between our two countries. I am certainly committed to making sure that the private sector plays an important role in the future as we develop even greater ties, and I thank all of you for being part of a standing – this essential partnership. It’s good for Brazil, it’s good for the United States, it’s good for Latin America and our hemisphere, and I think it’s good for the world.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

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SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Public Schedule for April 16, 2012

Public Schedule for April 16, 2012

Public Schedule

Washington, DC

April 16, 2012

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PUBLIC SCHEDULE
MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2012

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel in Brasilia, Brazil. Secretary Clinton is accompanied by Under Secretary Otero, Assistant Secretary Jacobson, Assistant Secretary Fernandez, Spokesperson Nuland, Director Sullivan, and VADM Harry B. Harris, Jr., JCS. Please click here for more information.

11:30 a.m. LOCAL Meeting with Petrobras CEO Maria das Graças Foster, in Brasilia, Brazil.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

12:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton delivers remarks to the Business Leaders’ Lunch, at the National Council of Industries, in Brasilia, Brazil.
(CAMERA SPRAY AT THE TOP)

1:05 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with staff and families of Embassy Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, in Brasilia, Brazil.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

5:15 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a joint press availability with Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, in Brasilia, Brazil.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

7:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary attends a dinner hosted by Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, in Brasilia, Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)