SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON ON ETHIOPIA'S NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Ethiopia's National Day

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

May 25, 2012

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Ethiopia as you celebrate your national day this May 28th.
The United States and the people of Ethiopia share a strong history as friends and partners. Together, we are working to enhance food security, improve health services, strengthen education, promote trade, and expand development. The United States applauds Ethiopia’s dedication to maintaining security in the region, including through important and effective peacekeeping missions in Sudan and South Sudan. I hope the coming year will yield a more vibrant civil society and private sector to help shape a brighter future for Ethiopia.

The United States is committed to helping Ethiopia achieve a more peaceful and prosperous future for all its people, and we look forward to continuing to work together toward common goals in Africa and around the world. As you gather with family and friends to celebrate your national day, know that the United States stands with you.

CLINTON COMMENTS ON NATO OPEN-DOOR MEMBERSHIP

FROM:  U.S. AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE 

Clinton Affirms NATO Open-door Membership Policy

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at NATO's summit in Chicago today that member nations are committed to the organization's open-door membership policy, which she called a "powerful motivation" for countries wishing to join the alliance.

Speaking at a meeting of NATO's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, Clinton said the prospect of gaining membership in the alliance spurs countries to "implement difficult but necessary reforms, resolve internal differences as well as differences with their neighbors, and contribute to security operations that benefit themselves and all of us."

The open-door policy has produced some of the alliance's most active and committed members, she said, and has helped to promote stability and cooperation in central and eastern Europe.

According to NATO agreements, the alliance is open to any European country able to meet the commitments and obligations of membership and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Since 1949, NATO's membership has increased from 12 to 28 countries through six rounds of enlargement. Albania and Croatia, which were invited to join NATO at the alliance's April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, formally became members April 1, 2009.

Georgia is advancing toward NATO membership, and Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are also working to become alliance members.

Clinton said the United States is deeply committed to NATO's open-door policy. "It is in that spirit that we welcome our aspirant nations here today," she said.

"We will keep working with each of them, both bilaterally and through NATO, to help them implement finally the reforms needed to meet the standards for membership," she added. "As I said yesterday, I believe this summit should be the last summit that is not an enlargement summit."

Clinton said NATO looks to aspiring member nations to demonstrate that they share NATO's values and =are willing and able to meet the standards for membership. "And we promise to help them as they do so because this is in our interest," she added.

Gaining membership can be a lengthy and challenging process, Clinton acknowledged.

"We need to stick with it and remember our ultimate goal: a stronger, more durable, more effective NATO," she said, adding that enlargement of the alliance, done right, is a core element of NATO's purpose and its community.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON COMMENTS ON NEW GOVERNMENT IN BURMA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Burma - National League for Democracy and Parliament
Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Washington, DC
May 2, 2012
Only eighteen months ago, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest. Today, the pro-democracy leader and several other members of the National League for Democracy have taken their newly won seats in Burma’s parliament. For the first time in the country’s history, Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her party will have a role and voice in government.

I would like to send my congratulations to these pro-democracy leaders, other newly elected Members of Parliament, and the hundreds of thousands of voters for their courage and commitment to achieving a more representative and responsive government. President Thein Sein and his government have also taken important strides toward democracy and national reconciliation.

This is an important moment for Burma's future. A genuine transition toward multi-party democracy leading to general elections in 2015 will help build a more prosperous society. I encourage all political parties, civil society representatives and ethnic minority leaders to work together to address challenges and seize new opportunities for a more democratic, free, peaceful, and prosperous future.