U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today met the staff and families of Embassy Islamabad, Pakistan. Ms. Clinton expressed her gratitude for making her feel so welcome at the Embassy during the event.
“There’s a lot of incredible energy at this mission, and that is in part due to your understanding and commitment, American and Pakistani alike, to the importance of this relationship. You understand you are working at the epicenter of American foreign policy, that you have important jobs to do, and that what you do has deep and wide-ranging consequences.” -Ms. Clinton
She said the past weeks have been especially challenging. She said the two countries have hard work ahead of them to improve this relationship.
“But on behalf of President Obama and myself and our government, we are committed to making that happen.” -Ms. Clinton
She cited that she had excellent meetings with the leadership of Pakistan as well as civil society and media representatives.
“Advancing the Afghan peace process; taking on the remnants of al-Qaida, the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, those require Pakistan’s active cooperation, and I think we had a very good set of discussions about what kind of work we need to be doing together.” -Ms. Clinron
She noted that both countries have to continue the other essential work that they are doing, from providing flood relief to rebuilding bridges to making electricity accessible to distributing wheat and vegetable seeds and helping half a million farming families get back on their feet.
“Moving toward a stable self-sufficient Pakistan, governed by democratic and civilian-led institutions able to provide jobs and opportunities for the Pakistani people, is our shared goal. So I can’t thank you enough. And I extend that appreciation to the entire American team here, civilian and military, representatives not only of State and USAID but the multiplicity of agencies represented here.” – Ms. Clinton
