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Subject IndexWednesday, February 4, 2009
Date: 02/04/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton addresses employees during a town hall meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, Feb. 4, 2009. © AP Photo
Secretary Clinton Addresses Department of State Town Hall Meeting
Secretary Clinton (Feb. 4): "Let me thank you for what you are doing, thank you for what you will do, and pledge to you my very best efforts to do all that I can to create the circumstances that will enable you to represent our country, to do the work you do with the resources you deserve to have, and to fulfill the promise of President Obama in his inaugural address where we reach out to the world, where we find common ground, and we pursue common goals in pursuit of those values that we hold so dear." -Full Text
U.S.-German Relationship: Longstanding and Enduring
Secretary Clinton (Feb. 3): "We have had an excellent and broad discussion.  Germany is one of our closest allies, and we greatly value opportunities like today to discuss the issues that affect our nations and the international community as a whole. ... You know, the longstanding and enduring German-American relationship is close and firm. And as our meeting today made clear, we rely on Germany's support and assistance to face global challenges together." -Full Text -Video
U.S., U.K. Share Fundamental Values and Objectives
Secretary Clinton (Feb. 3): "Our two countries have stood side by side confronting global challenges for a very long time.... It ranges across the fight against terrorism and combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction, to working together to solve the current global financial crisis and ensure that the benefits of a renewed global economy are spread widely.  We’ve worked together and will continue to deepen our working relationship in combating poverty and disease, and confronting global climate change." -Full Text -Video

In Other News

Date: 01/23/2009 Description: Daily Press Briefing State Dept Photo
U.S. Calls on FARC To Release All Hostages
Acting Spokesman Wood (Feb. 4):
"[W]e certainly welcome the release of the three policemen and one soldier, and we also want to thank the Government of Brazil for its efforts to facilitate the release of these hostages and ... congratulate the Government of Colombia for its efforts.... [W]e call on the FARC to release all prisoners immediately." -Full Text -Video
Date: 02/03/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton meets with Sepcial Envoy George Mitchell, Washington, DC, Feb. 3, 2009. © Still photo from video.
U.S. Works Toward a Negotiated Agreement in the Middle East
Secretary Clinton (Feb. 3): "We are looking to work with all of the parties to try to help them make progress toward a negotiated agreement that would end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, create an independent and viable Palestinian state in both the West Bank and Gaza, and provide Israel with the peace and security that it has sought." -Full Text -Video
Date: 02/02/2009 Location: Washington, DC Description: Vice President Joe Biden, right, swears in Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in a ceremonial swearing-in at the Sate Department February 2, 2009, in Washington, DC. © AP Photo
Vice President Biden Swears In Secretary Clinton
Secretary Clinton (Feb. 2): "[W]e have, in the leadership of President Obama, someone who wants us to reach out to the world, to do so without illusions, understanding that the difficulties we face will not be wished away, but meeting them forthrightly and smartly, and that we want to seize the opportunities that exist as well."
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Date: 01/30/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton meets with former Secretary of State George Shultz, Washington, DC, Jan. 30, 2009. © Still photo from video.
Secretary Clinton Meets With Former Secretary Shultz
Secretary Clinton (Jan. 30): "[H]e was Secretary of State for seven years and had a leadership role, was instrumental in so many of the important events of those years. But nearer to home here, he also led the efforts to renovate and refurbish the State Department."
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Date: 01/26/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton announces the appointment of Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern in the Ben Franklin Room of the State Department. State Dept Photo
Special Envoy for Climate Change
Secretary Clinton (Jan. 26): "...American leadership is essential to meeting the challenges of the 21st century. And chief among those is the complex, urgent, and global threat of climate change. From rapidly rising temperatures to melting arctic icecaps, from lower crop yields to dying forests, from unforgiving hurricanes to unrelenting droughts, we have no shortage of evidence that our world is facing a climate crisis." -Full Text  -Video 
Date: 01/13/2009 Location: Washington, DC Description: Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC January 13, 2009, during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. © AP Photo
Secretary Clinton Talks About Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
Secretary Clinton (Jan. 27): "[W]e view defense, diplomacy, and development as the three pillars of American foreign policy. That’s not rhetoric. That is our commitment. That’s how we are proceeding. It was significant that the President and the Vice President came on my first day and their second day in office to reinforce that message."  -Full Text
Date: 01/23/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton addresses USAID employees. State Department photo
U.S. Supports Development Assistance
Secretary Clinton (Jan. 23): "I wanted to come here today with a very simple message: I believe in development, and I believe with all my heart that it truly is an equal partner, along with defense and diplomacy, in the furtherance of America’s national security."
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Date: 01/26/2009 Location: Madagascar Description: Protestors gather in the Avenue de l'independence to listen to a mayoral address in the island's capital Antananarivo Monday, Jan. 26, 2009. © AP Photo
Madagascar Crisis
Acting Spokesman Wood (Jan. 29): "The United States is deeply concerned by the recent political violence in Madagascar. We call on Madagascar’s leaders and the Malagasy people to exercise restraint and avoid all further violence." -Press Statement
Date: 01/22/2009 Description: President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden Announce Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke © AP Photo
High-Level Diplomats Named for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Middle East
Secretary Clinton (Jan. 22): "Today, we start the hard work to restore our standing and enable our country to meet the vexing new challenges of the 21st century, but also to seize the opportunities that await us." 
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Date: 01/22/2009 Location: Washington, DC Description: Secretary Clinton addresses staff at the U.S. Department of State during her welcoming ceremony. State Dept Photo
Secretary Clinton Delivers Welcome Address
Secretary Clinton (Jan. 22): "President Obama set the tone with his inaugural address. And the work of the Obama-Biden Administration is committed to advancing America's national security, furthering America's interests, and respecting and exemplifying America's values around the world."
-Full Text  -Video 
Date: 01/26/2009 Description: Comments at the UN by U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice State Dept Photo
Ambassador Susan Rice at the UN
Comments at the UN by U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice on Aid to Gaza, the Threat of Iran's Nuclear Program and Presentation of Credentials.
Date: 01/20/2009 Description: A child fetches water at an improved water source in Kimatong, Eastern Equatoria, Southern Sudan. © USAID Photo
The Global Partnership Center
The GPC coordinates and stewards public-private partnerships between the State Department and businesses, foundations, NGOs, academia, and other groups. It encourages a collaborative approach to government by convening partnership leaders. 
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Highlights

Black History Month 
Irvin Hicks, Jr. served as Management Officer for U.S. Embassy Conakry, Guinea and U.S. Consulate General Lagos, Nigeria prior to his current position as Supervisory General Services Officer for U.S. Embassy Brasilia.
Doors to Diplomacy Contest 
The 2009 Doors to Diplomacy award competition recognizes student-created Global SchoolNet web projects that teach about the importance of international affairs.
 


Ask the Ambassador
This online forum lets you interact with U.S. Ambassadors around the world. When a chat is announced, questions submitted online will be answered by State Department officials and posted to the website so that others may benefit from the discussion. Check this space for upcoming chats.  
Policy Podcast
State Department officials discuss upcoming events and foreign policy issues. See the video collection and check this space for upcoming Podcasts.



Traveling?

A yacht sails past the Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour, Australia, July 13, 2006. [© AP Images]Australia
Much of Australia's culture is derived from European roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment, aboriginal culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbors. The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia--film, opera, music, painting, theater, dance, and crafts--have achieved international recognition.
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Description: Tourists sunbathing near Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, November 24, 2002. [© AP Images]Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic's economy boomed in the 1990s, expanding at an average rate of 7.7% per year from 1996 to 2000. Tourism (the leading foreign exchange earner), telecommunications, and free-trade-zone manufacturing are the most important sectors, although agriculture is still a major part of the economy.
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Date: 07/16/1997 Location: Andorra. Description: Bikers ride past old church in the Envalira pass between Andorra and southern France. © AP Photo
Andorra
Andorra's national income in 2007 was approximately $3.66 billion, with tourism as its principal component. Attractive for shoppers from France and Spain because of low taxes, the country also has developed active summer and winter tourist resorts. With some 270 hotels and 400 restaurants, as well as many shops, the tourist trade employs a growing portion of the domestic labor force.
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Date: 05/21/2008 Location: Kenya Description: A pride of lionesses walk the plains in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya. © AP PhotoKenya
Fossils found in East Africa suggest that protohumans roamed the area more than 20 million years ago. Recent finds near Kenya's Lake Turkana indicate that hominids lived in the area 2.6 million years ago. Tourism earned Kenya U.S. $972 million in 2007, followed by tea exports of U.S. $638.9 million.
 
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Date: 05/07/2004 Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Description: Vacationing Saudi Arabians are silhouetted at a public beach in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia near the Jeddah fountain, a landmark in the city. © AP PhotoSaudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's current development plan focuses on economic diversification in addition to education and inclusion of women in society. The plan calls for establishing new universities and new colleges with technical specializations. Privatization as well as emphases on a knowledge-based economy and tourism will help in the goal of economic diversification.
 
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