Remarks at Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony

And thanks to all of you for coming to this ceremony today.

Like Tony, I am appreciative of the Secretary's strong support for best business practices and corporate responsibility, at home and abroad.

The government's efforts to heighten awareness of good governance, competitive practices and accountability as the keys to a nation's development are tools that are very similar to the private sector's commitment to best practices and corporate responsibility.

As the Secretary has noted countless times, the partnership we have forged between American business and American diplomacy has never been more important.

You see this partnership in the positive response of the business community to innovative Administration programs to persuade nations to seize the initiative for their own development -- our Partnership for Prosperity with Mexico; the bold and forward-looking positions we took at the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg; the President's Millennium Challenge Account; and the proposals we have tabled on everything from agriculture to services as part of the new Doha WTO Trade Round.

Government has limited resources to commit to many of these programs -- five billion dollars per year in new assistance under the Millennium Challenge Account by FY '06 sounds like a lot of money -- and it is, given the competition for government resources.

But it pales when you look closely at trade and investment flows that are generated by the private sector.

After all, the combined value of development resources from domestic savings is now almost $2 trillion a year, FDI is now $180-$200 billion a year, and U.S. imports of goods from developing countries alone is $450 billion a year.

This dwarfs the $50 billion from Official Development Assistance channels that all donors provide each year.

Simply put, the biggest weapons in our economic arsenal -- and hence the group most responsible for ensuring our economic security -- are American companies.

The private sector's ability to manage, to move quickly, to bring to bear immense resources, and to be imaginative and entrepreneurial, far outpaces government's ability to make things happen.

The U.S. business community has a strong commitment to investing in the people who work for them and in helping them move up the free enterprise ladder.

U.S. business, admittedly, has not had very good press this year.

But the companies we recognize today -- and all the companies that were nominated for the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence -- have done a tremendous amount of good for their communities this year. Whether it's creating jobs and wealth or investing in the education and welfare of their employees, we want this known to the people in their host communities and to Americans here at home.

They are America's Corporate Ambassadors, purveyors of good will for the United States and conveyors of American values.

It is my great pleasure to recognize the good works they have done. As we constantly say, you can do well by doing good -- and the best way to sell American goods and services is by being an integral part of the community and by leading by example.

The steadfastness of American companies, large and small, on the front lines of business engagement and public diplomacy -- and the values they carry with them -- are, I believe, the keys to a better, safer and more prosperous world.

Thank you.