U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
October 5, 2011
2011/T53-02
REMARKS
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
At the Pathways to Prosperity Opening Ceremony
October 5, 2011
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, and it is, indeed, a great pleasure for me to join you here in the Dominican Republic for the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Pathways to Prosperity Initiative.
I want to begin by thanking my friend and colleague, the foreign minister, for hosting us today. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to work with Carlos over the last years, and it is always good to be back in the Dominican Republic. I also want to acknowledge the vice president and the first lady. I have had, also, the great pleasure of knowing the first lady for a number of years as well, and I think that your presence here today demonstrates the commitment of this country and of President Fernandez to the goals of Pathways to Prosperity.
We are here because we know that in such a complex world as the one we inhabit today we have to be smart and effective in order to produce greater prosperity and expand opportunity across the Americas. We want all people in our hemisphere from all walks of life to be able to develop their own God-given talents. We want them to start and grow businesses, improve the well-being of their families, and contribute to prosperity in their communities and their countries.
I know from the work we have done together over the last years that many countries represented here today have developed such creative and effective programs that are targeting and solving some of the most difficult problems facing us. For example, how do we achieve growth while protecting both labor standards and the environment? How do we make capital available to people at the lowest levels of the economic ladder, who have the ideas, the desire, and, frankly, the work ethic to start enterprises, but have no access to credit? How do we connect small businesses in remote places to regional and global markets? And how do we tackle the entrenched social and economic conditions that still in the 21st century hold back too many people from making the most of their God-given potentials?
That’s what Pathways is really all about. Each of us is taking a hard look at what we do and what we can do better, clearing the pathway for greater social and economic mobility, opening up our economies to trade, making that openness more sustainable so that we see benefits for the greatest number of people. Across the Americas, we have seen how conditional cash transfer programs can work, work to help families achieve higher rates of school enrollment, better health and nutrition, and thereby improving their economic and social standing. We have seen microfinance programs provide invaluable financial services to the poor. In fact, because the poor must relentlessly manage their money just to survive, they often are able to take greater advantage of what you and I might consider very small investments. With microfinance, many are able to weather economic crises and get the capital to start businesses.
We also know there is strong evidence for the value of investing in women. According to the World Bank, with a recently released study, increasing job opportunities and eliminating discrimination against women can increase productivity by as much as 40 percent. And when women’s incomes rise, those around them benefit, because women reinvest 90 percent of their incomes into their families and communities.
So the aim of Pathways to Prosperity is to benefit all citizens, men and women, rich and poor, from all races and all backgrounds. We think that is not only smart, we know it is necessary. Because when it comes to creating broad-based, sustainable economic growth, we are in a global competition. And I believe very strongly that Latin America is poised to continue to build on the growth of the last decade and to realize gains economically that just a few years ago would’ve been considered out of reach.
This meeting, therefore, gives us a chance to share best practices, as we have in the past. The study just completed by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, which Alicia is here to talk about, is full of success stories. For example, just a few: Colombia’s comprehensive National Development Plan, Honduras’s reforms to reduce the cost for borrowing for microenterprises, and I could go on and on. And I want to applaud all of the examples and leadership that made these successes possible.
But here in Santo Domingo, we must go beyond sharing success stories if Pathways to Prosperity is to become the powerful catalyst for progress that we seek it to be. We must make concrete commitments to launch, expand, and support effective programs. And then we have to hold each other accountable to what we have committed to. That is how we can assure that when we meet next year in 2012, we will be able to celebrate even greater results.
Last year in Costa Rica, I announced the support of the United States for scaling successful Pathways programs throughout the hemisphere. Since then, the United States has spent $5 million on projects such as expanding small business development centers, providing technical assistance for infrastructure projects, building our network of women entrepreneurs, and promoting more environmentally sustainable production practices. Today, I am pleased to announce that the United States will commit up to $17.5 million to fund projects under Pathways and other related programs that foster inclusive economic growth. This includes our contribution to a U.S. Treasury Department initiative through which we will work with other donors to finance regional infrastructure improvements in Central America.
This is part of our larger commitment to generate more – and more sustainable – economic activity across our region, and trade is a very important part of that vision. As you know, on October 3rd, President Obama submitted to Congress our three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. We are hopeful that Congress will act on these agreements swiftly as part of a package that includes trade adjustment assistance so we can enhance the prosperity between us.
The United States believes in the mission of Pathways. We believe it is critical for the future prosperity and security of our hemisphere and for the well-being of all our people in the Americas. And we are very proud to support programs that work, and we’re looking for more programs that work. We listen very carefully at these Pathways meetings, take note of what countries are proposing and doing, and then seek out ways to support you. So I am eager for the conversations we will have here today and for the work that will continue in the months ahead.
As Secretary of State of the United States, I am very honored to travel around the world on behalf of my country. And we know that we’re facing difficult economic times in much of the world, but Latin America, the Americas, continues to grow. The opportunities for the countries represented here and all of the countries in the region are just so significant right now. I have no doubt that the region will continue to grow. My question is: Will that growth include more and more people? Will that prosperity reach down into the middle class and the poor? Will more families realize their own dreams?
So yes, I think we are poised to see a great economic growth engine powering prosperity across the region. But I don’t want us ever to forget that growth is not the end in and of itself. It is to lift millions of people, to improve their lives, to give their children better futures. And I am absolutely confident that together, we can also do that as well.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
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