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Emerging Democracies Forum
Managing the Twin Transitions
Closing Plenaries
(16 of 25 pages)
Speaker: Thank you. I'd now like to call on the Honorable Sally Shelton-Colby,
the Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
Sally Shelton-Colby: Thank you, Madam Chair. Before introducing Mrs. Clinton, I would very much like to
echo the comments of those who have recognized the support of President Abdullah Saleh for this conference and
the vision of Prime Minister Eryani in proposing the conference and the hard organizational work and the very warm
hospitality of the government of Yemen and the Yemeni people. And I would also like to express my appreciation
to NDI, an organization with which I have had some involvement over the years. I know of few other non-governmental
organizations with the world-wide contacts and the ability to bring together such a distinguished group of governmental
and non-government leaders. Ken Wollack on Monday spoke of the universal appeal of democracy and I think that
idea is embodied in this room.
The discussions have been very rich over the last three days and we hope these discussions will continue beyond
the life of this conference and that we can expand the community of democracies beyond those represented here today.
Today's communications technology can make continuing exchanges possible. And it is in fact communication technology
that will enable Mrs. Clinton to be with us today.
As I'm sure most of you or all of you are aware, Hillary Clinton has been one of the world's most strongest advocates
of newly emerging democracies. She has traveled in the Middle East, in Africa and Latin America and Asia and Eastern
Europe and in the countries of the former Soviet Union. And through these travels she has not only increased her
own knowledge but is constantly talking to the president. It's been fascinating to me to watch and listen to the
number of times that the President, in meetings with those of us in his administration, will quote Mrs. Clinton
and her views or her impressions of some developing countries she has traveled to. In fact I think it's difficult
to think of anyone who has done more to increase America's understanding of the problems you face, of the progress
you're making, and of the relationship between helping to grow your prosperity and sustaining our own. It is this
linkage between your values and our values, between your prosperity and our prosperity that has made the promotion
of democracy one of the US government's most important foreign policy objectives.
Mrs. Clinton's interest in democracy encompasses many of the topics we have been discussing here during the last
three days. She has consistently emphasized though three specific topics. Number one is the empowerment of women.
She has talked about progress in women's rights being an important indicator of progress in democracy. Mrs. Clinton
was recently in Africa and she said, "A democracy without women's full participation is a contradiction in
terms", which I think sums up the issue very nicely. She has been a champion of the US Department of State's
and the US Agency for International Development's efforts to put together what we call "Women as Vital Voices".
We have held a number of vital voices conferences around the world and are considering holding one hopefully
in the next few months in the Middle East.
A second critical issue that Mrs. Clinton has been very interested in is the idea of equal opportunity for all
citizens. I want to quote her once again. She has said that democracy asks that we trust and rely on people unlike
ourselves, democracy asks us to count on others whose views you may never agree with, people of religions and ethnic
groups and tribes different from your own and people whose ideas you may never understand.
A third point that Mrs. Clinton has been very interested in is civil society. She has said that a vibrant democracy
requires its citizens to take personal and collective responsibility for creating a civil society. But the civil
society alone is not enough. It is a partnership between civil society and open accountable government that reaps
the most bountiful harvest.
So in conclusion I am both please and honored to introduce the First Lady of the United States, an individual who
has done so much to promote the democratic views that we here at this conference so deeply cherish. I introduce
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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