Briefing on U.S.-EU Energy Council

Richard Morningstar
Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy 

Via Teleconference

Washington, DC

November 4, 2009

OPERATOR: Welcome, and thank you for standing by. We’d like to inform all participants your lines are in a listen-only mode. During today’s question and answer session, you may press *1 on your touchtone phone. Also, today’s conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time.

I now turn today’s call over to Ambassador Richard Morningstar. Thank you. You may begin.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Hello. I’m going to now first turn you over to Ian Kelly, who will, I guess, have a few introductory comments, and then we’ll go from there.

MR. KELLY: Yeah, this is Ian. I just want to, first of all, establish the ground rules. This is on the record. Welcome to this conference call. And as you know, the participant is Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Ambassador Richard Morningstar. Ambassador Morningstar has a few remarks to make at the beginning and then we’ll turn it over to your questions.

So, Ambassador Morningstar.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Thank you, Ian. And thank you for joining in the call, all of you who are in listen-only mode for the moment. I’ll say just a few words to open up.

Today, we launched what we’re calling the U.S.-EU Energy Council. On the European side, I suppose they’ll call it the EU-U.S. Energy Council. But this is, we think, a very important dialogue that – and very – I might add, very high-level dialogue that will allow the U.S. – the United States and the European Union to have a very open and deep dialogue on strategic energy issues, on energy policy issues, on questions relating to research and technology, and will allow us to take a holistic approach towards energy in which we look at a combination of strategic issues, technology issues and policy issues, all of which ultimately relate to each other.

This is being done at a high level. The co-chairs on the U.S. side are Secretary Chu, who is there this morning, as well as Secretary Clinton, who as I’m sure you know, is in Cairo and could not be back. But Deputy Secretary Steinberg very ably filled in for her. On the European side also represented were three of the commissioners: the commissioner for – EU Commissioner for Research Potocnik; the Commissioner for Transport and Energy Piebalgs; and the Commissioner for External Relations Ferrero-Waldner; as well as High Representative Solana and Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy – Economics and Energy, I guess is the title – Minister Oloffson and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. They, of course, were here for – also for the U.S.-EU Summit yesterday and participated in today’s meetings. I’m sure you all know this is the Swedish presidency period for the EU.

In addition, we – I can tell you that this Energy Council will be broken down into three working groups, all of which were represented at today’s meeting. And we actually had an informal working group lunch afterwards to further talk about our agenda. And the three working groups will work in the area of energy security and markets, energy policies and regulation, as well as energy technologies and research cooperation.

And on the U.S. side, the Department of Energy will be responsible for the work on technology and research. The Department of State and myself, I’ll be responsible for the – on the U.S. side for the group on security and markets. And on the energy policy side, that’s going be shared on the U.S. side by the Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce, co-chaired.

I can get into who’s involved from the European side, I guess, just very briefly. On the energy security and market side, it’ll be the directorate on external relations. Now, that’s all going to change with the passage or the finalization of the Lisbon Treaty, so that will have a state of transition. I guess the high representatives will, in effect, take that over, whoever that will be under after January.

The energy policies questions will be their directorate on research and energy, and then research – the directorate on research will do research and technology. I can get into some of the specific areas that each of these groups will work on, but I think that it probably is better to – with that brief introduction to open it up for your questions.

OPERATOR: Thank you. At this time for questions on the phone, please press *1. Please unmute your line and record your name to be introduced. Again, for questions, press *1. If you’d like to withdraw the request, you may press *2.

Thank you, and one moment for your first question.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Don’t all jump up at once. (Laughter.)

OPERATOR: Okay. Currently, we’re showing no questions. As a reminder, press *1.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: I’ll get into (inaudible). Is there anybody – how can we find out if anybody is there?

OPERATOR: Okay. And for the phones, we’re currently showing no questions.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Well, if it makes any sense, I can give you a little more information on what the types of issues will be worked on. But I assume that there are people there. (Laughter.) Maybe – can our operator tell us that there are, in fact, are people who are dialed in?

OPERATOR: Okay. We actually do have some questions that came in queue.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Okay.

OPERATOR: We have Lachlan Carmichael. Your line is open.

QUESTION: Yes. Hi. This is from AFP News Agency. Yeah, if you can connect these meetings to the overall goals at Copenhagen? And also, how do you plan to reach out to the private sector, and are there anybody – is there anybody involved right now from the private sector?

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: I can give you the information on that. First of all, the Energy Council will have absolutely nothing to do with Copenhagen climate change negotiations – the negotiations. However, as I’m sure you would recognize, there is a clear relationship between energy technology issues and climate change. And as we work on energy technology issues, which ultimately will reduce dependence on fossil fuel resources, as we look at efficiency issues, by definition, that’s going to have a positive effect with respect to climate change.

The private sector is going to have a – is going to have to have a very significant role with respect to this work; that, one, we need private sector advice when looking at policy issues, as well as some of the regulatory issues that might come up, and that might involve areas like carbon capture and sequestration. It could involve areas like smart grids and other issues. And at the same time, on the more research and technology related issues in which maybe groundbreaking work will take place, obviously, that can’t be deployed ultimately without the private sector.

We will work – certainly work with the Transatlantic Business Dialogue, although not exclusively, although they’re clearly an organization that I think can provide some good, sound advice, and that each – and that the working groups that are working –that are dealing with the issues that I referred to, they will, as necessary, bring in the private sector. And so, they’re definitely – they’re going to have to be a part of it, and should be a part of it.

OPERATOR: Okay. Thank you. Next question we have is Oleg Zelenis. Your line is open.

QUESTION: Yeah, hi. I’d like to ask you a question. How do you see the role of Russia in the new U.S.-EU energy dialogue? Thank you.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: That’s a good question. What – and just what is your name again and your affiliation?

QUESTION: It’s Oleg Zelenis from ITAR-TASS.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Well, certainly, nothing that we’re going to be doing with respect to the U.S. energy – U.S.-EU Energy Council will have any kind of – will have no negative effect whatsoever in what we’re trying to do with Russia. And in fact, hopefully, it’ll have a very positive effect, because where the United States is working with Russia with respect to an energy dialogue – and that’s part of the new presidential Binational Commission that has been set up by President Obama and President Medvedev – there is an energy working group that will be part of that. In fact, the Secretary of State talked about that when she was in Russia two weeks ago – or three weeks ago, whenever it was.

The European Union has its own discussions with Russia. Obviously, Russia is a major energy partner with Europe. There are opportunities. We have not discussed them yet, but there clearly will be opportunities for the U.S. and Europe and the European Union perhaps to work together with Russia on certain issues.

I want to emphasize that we are seeking engagement with Russia on energy issues, that we want to work together on issues where we can agree, such as the environment, such as efficiency issues. We’re looking at investment issues on both sides of the ocean and market access issues. When we don’t agree on things, we want to talk about them openly and candidly so that we don’t distort each other’s views, and look for rational solutions so that we are – we want very much to have a very constructive dialogue with Russia.

I’ve had two very good meetings with Energy Minister Shmatko over the last several months, and we look forward to that dialogue, and I think the U.S.-European Union dialogue should actually – will ultimately help with respect to the dialogue with Russia.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Next question, Herman Wang. Your line is open.

QUESTION: Hello, gentlemen. My name is Herman Wang. I’m with Platts Inside Energy, and I just had a question about the current climate change or the carbon cap talks that are going on in Congress right now, and I know they’re pretty deadlocked right now. How much will the U.S.’s work with this new U.S.-EU council be hampered if the Senate and Congress, as a whole, fails to come to some sort of incentives and pass a bill on carbon caps?

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Well, I am not the person to be answering that question because I am not involved at all in the legislation, and we are certainly – this – the issue is certainly going to be on the agenda with Europe, but I can’t say what the effect will be on – with respect to the legislation and whether it passes, doesn’t pass, or whatever. I don’t know, Ian, if you want to make any comment on it.

MR. KELLY: We don’t have a view on that right now.

QUESTION: Okay.

OPERATOR: Okay, thank you. Next question, David Ivanovich, your line is open.

QUESTION: Ambassador, thanks for taking my call. Can you give us a little more specifics about what aspects of the markets the council might be looking at and what aspects of regulation you’re talking about?

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Yeah, and you’re with?

QUESTION: I’m sorry, Argus Media.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Yeah. Well, the working group – there are two working groups that will be – well, actually, all three working groups to some extent are – will be working with markets, but probably – I guess I would say it may be different stages of the development of markets. And the research and technology area will be looking at earlier stages; what are the kinds of things that they can be looking at.

Secretary Chu, for example, at the meeting this morning, talked about how important it is to get the most important minds on both sides of the ocean to look at really cutting-edge issues. An example – and I’m a little bit reluctant to give specific examples because nothing has been set in stone as to what might actually be looked at. But as an example, the – finding the best people to work on liquid metal batteries was something that came up this morning. Again, whether that’ll ultimately become a priority item, I don’t know, but it was just brainstorming as the kind of thing that can be talked about.

Then when you get into things like energy policy, and we really – I mean, that would get more into issues of how do we – what – how do we work with new areas and how do we set up a regulatory framework with respect to new areas, and how can we learn from each other and set up, upfront, best practices and regulatory frameworks that may be compatible. The carbon capture issue was one that was talked about as an example. Electric vehicles was another topic that came up as – again, as a possible example. Again, don’t hold us to that those are going to be the two top areas that are going to be worked on, but there again, just two examples of the kinds of things that were discussed this morning.

The third group which will be looking at issues relating to energy markets and security – energy security and markets will be looking at questions that – as to – that you’re all well – many of you are well aware of – diversification of roots, diversification of supplies, but also looking at how we can develop more transparent, stable, nondiscriminatory markets, how we can best promote transparency, competition, open markets in third countries, for example. And so we’ll be working a lot in that area – in those areas as well.

I talked earlier about some of the other issues that we may get into like smart grids. We could go on and on with examples. The working groups will determine over the next weeks – each working group will have a specific work plan, and then we’ll take action and then report back to the council at the ministerial level.

QUESTION: May I follow up?

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Sure.

QUESTION: Yeah, can --

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: I’m not sure I’ll be able to answer, but I’ll take your follow-up.

QUESTION: (Laughter.) Well, how will we find out – how will we know what the working groups ultimately decide to do? Will we be informed of that, or is there a way we can keep track of this?

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Well, we don’t have a specific methodology to keep track of it, but there’s nothing that will be nontransparent about what’s happening. Certainly, the reports that will be – that will go back to the full council will be open. But you raise a good question as to how, on an ongoing basis, can we keep people informed. And that’s – we haven’t – we really haven’t thought that through, but again, there’s nothing nontransparent. And we will definitely think of some way that we can keep people informed. And we’re always open to your calls and questions.

QUESTION: Good. Thanks very much.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Next question, Corine Lesnes, your line is open.

QUESTION: Hi. I have a question about nuclear energy. This is Corine from LeMonde newspaper. How do you deal with nuclear energy with knowing that European countries have very different policies on that?

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Well, you answered the question. (Laughter.) European countries have different policies. Nuclear power in general is going to be – I’m sure will end up being, to some extent, part of the energy answer over the next – over the coming 10 to 20 years, and – but each member state within Europe is going to have to make their own determinations as to making use of nuclear energy. And just as we have our issues here, some countries have their issues there. So, I mean, nuclear power will be part of the equation, and it’s going to depend on the country.

OPERATOR: All right, thank you. Once again, for questions, press *1, please.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Before the next question, let me just – my colleague, Jonathan Kessler here, who has been working hard on these issues, pointed out that for more information, more specific information, you can refer to the summit declaration, which is on the White House website and the Swedish presidency website, as well as the annex to that declaration. There is an annex specifically on the energy council, and you can find out some additional details by looking at that.

And so if there are any other questions?

OPERATOR: Thank you. At this time, we’re showing no questions. As a reminder, press *1, please. (No response.) Thank you. We’re showing no questions at this time.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Okay. Well, thank you very much. Ian, do you have any --

MR. KELLY: No, just thank you all for participating, and just to remind you, this was on the record with Ambassador Richard Morningstar.

AMBASSADOR MORNINGSTAR: Thank you.

MR. KELLY: Thank you.

OPERATOR: Thank you for joining today’s conference. You may disconnect. Have a great day.

Remarks on U.S.-EU Energy Council Before Their Meeting

James B. Steinberg
Deputy Secretary of State

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson

Benjamin Franklin Room

Washington, DC

November 4, 2009

SECRETARY CHU: Deputy Secretary Steinberg and I are very pleased to be opening this meeting between the United States and EU Energy Council. It is the first such meeting, and we hope that it will be the first of many, in a long series of meetings, that could actual – that would substantially improve both the EU and the United States ability to transition to a clean, sustainable energy economy. These transitions are extremely important, both for our energy security, for our mutual economic development, and of course, for the climate of the world. And so I'm looking very much forward to fruitful discussions today.

And with that, deputy prime minister.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OLOFSSON: Thank you very much, Secretary Chu. I think from the European side, we believe that the energy council will strengthen our bilateral ties, and by working together we send important signal to the world that EU and U.S. are ready to make things happening when it comes to the climate change. And we want to deliver things in the energy sector in a concrete and very pragmatic way.

I also think it's a strong signal, ahead of what's happening in Copenhagen, that we can do concrete things when it comes to energy. New energy solutions, energy efficiency, and other climate action is needed right now. And I hope that this energy council will deliver good things for changing our climate in a better way and reduce our CO2 emissions. And we are very happy for this bilateral work between U.S. and EU and happy that Secretary Chu is so engaged in our bilateral work.

Thank you.

DEPUTY SECRETARY STEINBERG: Let me just add on behalf of Secretary Clinton that we are grateful to our EU colleagues for this initiative. There are few more important challenges that we all face than these related problems of clean energy and energy security. And one of the things I think we've come to understand is the two are related and that there's an opportunity to achieve a win-win set of solutions on both by working together effectively. And what's important about this council is that it will not only allow us to coordinate energy policies and thus allow us to work together more effectively, but as the deputy prime minister has said, also develop some concrete collaboration on areas like energy security and energy research and development. And so this is the kind of thing that not only will help us on the policy realm, but also produce very concrete results for all of us.

And I think this is an issue which is very timely, important in light not only of Copenhagen but the broad range of issues that both of us are dealing with in terms of our own economies and our own economic development. This is something that President Obama has put an enormous emphasis on in terms of his growth strategy for the United States, and the opportunity to grow, and to grow cleanly, is so critical to our own future.

So the Secretary and all of us here are really looking forward to this intensive engagement that we will launch today.

Okay, I think we'll end this session. And thank you, press, for joining us. And we'll turn over to the working part of the meeting. Thank you.

Remarks at the Corporate Council on Africa's Seventh Biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington Convention Center

Washington, DC

Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Stephen, and it is a real pleasure for me to join you today and be part of what has already been a very substantive program. I thank you and the Corporate Council on Africa for your tireless efforts to develop stronger business and trade ties between the United States and the countries of Africa. And I want to also recognize my colleague in the cabinet, the U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk, who is a great advocate of increasing economic and trade opportunities as well. (Applause.)

Well, as Stephen said, I had an extraordinary trip in August and was able to visit some places that I had not yet had a chance to travel to, and to go back and see some places that were very familiar. But the point of the trip was to underscore the importance of Africa to the Obama Administration. It is obviously a cause that I personally am committed to, but it is truly a high-level commitment from the entire Administration, because we start from a premise that the future of Africa matters to our own progress and prosperity.

And the Obama Administration has strategies to help spur economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa and create conditions that will improve the lives of the African people, which to us is how you really measure success. We are eager to move beyond stereotypes that paint Africa as a land of poverty, disease, conflict, and not much else. And we will continue to lay a strong foundation for a new kind of engagement with Africa, one that is built on shared responsibility and shared opportunity, and on partnerships that produce measurable, lasting results.

From our perspective, for too long, Africa has been viewed as a charity case instead of a dynamic continent capable of becoming a global economic engine of the 21^st century. So it is time to change the narrative. It is time to understand that strengthened trade policies will enable African businesses to tap more effectively into existing markets and create new ones. It is time to recognize that with technology and innovation, African nations can leapfrog dirty stages of development and become more quickly integrated into the global marketplace. It is time to recognize too that the reform of the agricultural sector is essential to Africa’s future growth and prosperity, and that investing in people, especially women, will enable Africa to move much more quickly toward the kind of sustainable future that we all are hoping for.

Now, we have a big agenda and we have a very positive vision. But we have to acknowledge that none of this can happen without responsible African leadership, without good government and transparency and accountability, without acceptable of the rule of law, without environmental stewardship and the effective management of resources, without respect for human rights, without an end to corruption as a cancer that eats away at the entrepreneurial spirits and hopes of millions of people. (Applause.)

Now, we know that there are a lot of obstacles to overcome, but we are determined to work with you to achieve the goals that we have set forth. I was delighted that President Kagame was here, because even with the global recession, Rwanda’s health indicators are improving, its economy continues to expand, and that is directly traceable to the sound policies that the government has implemented. In – yes, you should give that a round of applause. (Applause.)

In each of the seven countries I visited, I saw examples of activities and investments that are already paying dividends. I saw researchers in Kenya who are modernizing agriculture by creating tools that will enable us to provide new kinds of seeds, fertilizers and equipment to transform rural farming. Young entrepreneurs in South Africa are starting businesses and building open markets that are competitive with counterparts anywhere in the world.

Public and private partners working together in Angola on new models of development assistance; health professionals in the Democratic Republic of Congo risking their own lives to give life back to those dehumanized by violent conflict; members of civil society in Nigeria pressing for electoral reforms and an end to corruption; civil servants in Liberia working to build democratic institutions as the country pieces itself together after years of civil war; and leaders in Cape Verde whose emphasis on good governance and transparency and strengthening democratic institutions has elevated that small nation economically in only a decade.

So across Africa, we know there are opportunities to be seized and we know that there are people who will do the hard work. But what we have to do is to help create the right conditions, and we are focusing on five key areas; first, trade. We are Africa’s largest trading partner, and at the AGOA conference in Nairobi, I said the United States would work to maximize the opportunities created by trade preference programs like AGOA. We want to work to build greater trade capacity in Africa, provide assistance to new industries, and we look forward to more bilateral investment treaties like the one we signed with Mauritius during my trip.

But we have to convince African countries to do more trading among themselves, and to break down the barriers at their own borders. (Applause.) It is absolutely clear that if African countries began to trade with one another, they would quickly have more increase in GDP than they could ever imagine by just bilateral agreements with Europe and the United States. So part of our goal must be to persuade our friends – open up your own markets to each other. (Applause.)

Second, development – we’re not going to forget the needs that exist, and the Obama Administration has pledged to double foreign assistance by 2014, because we believe development is still a linchpin of global economic progress. But we will pursue a different approach. We are looking to generate concrete and lasting solutions, not long-term dependency that saps the dynamism of a country instead of adding to the potential. (Applause.)

We will focus on country-led plans and market-based investments in areas like food security, infrastructure, and women. We will focus on metrics and accountability, on nations eager to attack corruption and promote good governance. And we will do a better job at integrating development with diplomacy so that we can address the interconnected problems we face.

Now, last week in New York at the United Nations and at the Clinton Global Initiative, I outlined our new initiative to address global hunger and agricultural reform. Food security may seem far removed from the work that some of you do and the investments that you make, but it is so important to Africa. The continent’s economy depends on agriculture, and 70 percent of the farmers in Africa are women, who are marginalized, who are ignored, who are not given the help they need to improve agricultural productivity for themselves and have a little left over to take to market to trade and sell.

Revitalizing and modernizing the agricultural sector in Africa is a smart investment for all of us to make, and I invite those of you who have any involvement in agriculture to work with us, to work with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program that provides such a good model. All of the member nations have pledged to devote 10 percent of their national budgets to agricultural development.

Once again, Rwanda is a model. It became the first country to complete its agricultural development plan and it’s already showing results. In three years, Rwanda’s investment in agriculture has increased fivefold and doubled agricultural GDP.

So food security is not just a question of getting food to hungry people. It is not simply a moral imperative. It represents the convergence of complex issues that have a direct bearing on economic growth. That’s why the G8 in Italy pledged $20 billion toward food security. We pledged $3.5 billion for our own initiative over the next three years.

Now, in thinking about food security and agricultural productivity, the lens immediately widens. Because in order to be successful in that sector, we have to modernize and build infrastructure. Not long ago I asked an expert on Africa what the continent needed most. His answer was: “Three things: Roads, roads, and roads.” So we are pursuing strategies to improve infrastructure and provide better access to information, capital, and training.

We also have to emphasize aviation. One speaker at AGOA made the point that it is easier to fly from Nairobi to London or New Delhi to Kinshasa or Abuja than to fly between those African cities. And until we provide more support for safe and functional airports, like we are now doing with the Government of Liberia, Angola, and Kenya, we will not maximize economic development.

We are also pursuing Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts with countries in Africa. And just two weeks ago, we signed an agreement with Senegal to provide $540 million to help that country rebuild its transportation and irrigation infrastructure.

The third pillar of our strategy is energy security. Africa is key to the United States and to global energy security, and the number of energy producers is growing. I had very productive meetings in Angola that will result in the creation of bilateral working groups on renewable energy, security issues, agriculture, and food, and we established a Memorandum of Understanding as to how we will pursue those objectives.

I also met with leaders in Nigeria and emphasized our commitment to partnering with Nigeria in areas such as electoral reform, anti-corruption activities, better stewardship of oil revenues, and efforts to build a more diversified economy, as well as the resolution of the conflict in the Niger Delta. I will be reaching out to the energy companies here who do business in the Niger Delta to figure out what we can do to try to resume a more productive outcome for the people of the Niger Delta in the production of energy.

There is no doubt that when one looks at Nigeria, it is such a heartbreaking scene we see. The number of people living in Nigeria is going up. The number of people facing food security and health challenges are going up. Why? Because the revenues have not been well managed. And the consequences of being a large energy producer has not been translated into positive changes for the Nigerian people.

Now, we encourage Nigeria, Angola, and other energy-producing countries to manage their resources and escape the natural resource curse that has plagued much of the continent. We have a new position in the State Department. It’s the Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. I have appointed a very experienced expert, David Goldwyn, to work with our partner countries. We will help new producers devise transparent revenue management systems to help them avoid the challenges other countries have faced with large new flows of money from oil, gas, or mining.

And to that end, we are pleased to have contributed $6 million last week to the World Bank’s multi-donor trust fund for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. We believe that within the right legal framework Africa can be an enormous market for investment and for economic growth, as well as a secure producer and supplier of energy.

Fourth, we need to build more public-private partnerships. In the 1960s, nearly 70 percent of all money flowing from the United States to the developing world was official development assistance; today, over 80 percent is from private sources.

We want to build on all of the generosity, the talents that are at our disposal – in the government, in the business community, in groups like the CCA, and in civil society. Under the leadership of Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, who heads our global office for public-private partnerships, we recently announced several new partnerships, including one that will bring together USAID, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Impact Investing Network, and JP Morgan Chase to support the development of social impact investing strategies. We are trying to figure out to do what we do better through government, but how we maximize and do better what we can with the private sector and the not-for-profit sector as well.

And fifth, and perhaps most important, we are stressing good governance, transparency and accountability, ending corruption, and adherence to the rule of law. I don’t need to tell this group that although there are so many opportunities for investment, none will succeed unless conditions are favorable for business and investment.

Companies are not going to be attracted to states with failed or weak leadership, crime or civil unrest, or corruption that taints and distorts every transaction and decision, or to countries that violate the rights of their people and, worse, allow violence toward women and girls to be practiced with impunity.

South Africa offers a compelling example of the relationship between good governance and economic development. South Africa emerged from apartheid and engaged its citizenry in the democratic process and is now Africa’s economic engine. And as Stephen said, having a South Africa-U.S. Business Council will once again demonstrate how closely we wish to work with our partners in South Africa.

Now, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is incredibly important, so we are providing technical assistance, we’re promoting more effective law enforcement through professional training of officers. And I am pleased that we won passage yesterday of a UN Security Council Resolution on gender and sexual-based violence that will be backed up by action through the UN.

There is so much to be done, but I am so excited about the potential. It’s a big world out there, and we could spend time worrying about everywhere, and there are lots of opportunities everywhere. But I remain convinced that no place holds the opportunities of the future like Africa does. But that doesn’t mean – (applause) – that we can just expect it to happen. We have to work together.

When I was at the University of Nairobi at a town hall, a great friend of mine and extraordinary environmental and peace advocate and Nobel Peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai, was with me was sitting in the audience, and she said something that has stuck with me that I have repeated across Africa and literally across the world. She said, “Africa is a rich continent. The gods must have been on our side when they created the planet. And yet we are poor.”

It is a painful truth; through colonialism and post-colonialism, the continent’s riches have too often gone to the few, not the many. But Africa itself holds an example that I would recommend to all of you – those of you in government and those of you in business – and that is the arrangement in Botswana for the mining and marketing of their diamonds with De Beers.

The Government of Botswana in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, post-independence, was so visionary. The leadership there was so devoted to building a country that would have the advantages that they wanted to see for their people after colonialism had finally ended. So they struck a hard bargain, and they created, essentially, a trust fund where a percentage of the revenues from the diamonds went into that fund, and then that fund was used to pave the roads. And if you’ve traveled in Botswana, you know that the roads are the best in Sub-Saharan Africa except for South Africa. And we can see the results year after year after year.

I got a letter the other day from the chairman, Mr. Oppenheimer, of De Beers saying, “Thank you for mentioning our relationship with Botswana. It has created a stable, successful environment for us to do business in.” Yes, you could have had short-term profits at the expense of long-term profitability. But instead, a different bargain was struck. I commend that example to all of you. (Applause.)

And let me just finally say that we stand ready to help. We stand ready to help our friends in Africa. We stand ready to help American businesses and corporations. We want to look back after the Obama Administration and be able to say we made a difference in Africa, and we can see the results. (Applause.) This is not only because it’s the right thing to do and the smart thing to do; it’s very personal to President Obama. He considers himself a son of Africa because of his father’s lineage. And he and I talk about how we want to see positive changes, changes that we all know can be made given the intelligence and the work ethic and the extraordinary abilities of the people of Africa. So let’s make sure that the governments of Africa are worthy of their people.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)