Tag Archives: President Obama

Rights of Indigenous Peoples / Engaging with Asia / The ACE Awards

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President Obama announces U.S. support for the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. After a year of “practical progress,” the United States will continue its strong engagement with Central and South Asia in the coming year. A U.S.-North African partnership is expected to yield new jobs. And finally, the winners of the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence are announced; read about their work.

Obama Backs Indigenous Rights Measure
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The United States is lending its support to the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, President Obama says. Speaking at the White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, Obama, at left with Fawn Sharp of the Quinault Indian Nation, tells a gathering of Native Americans that he hopes “we are seeing a turning point in the relationship between our nations.”


Progress in Central Asia
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This year, U.S. efforts to intensify engagement with Central Asia have brought results across a wide range of issues, says Robert Blake, the U.S. assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs. “I can assure you that that high-level engagement will continue in 2011,” says Blake.

Stronger U.S. Ties With South Asia
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Robert Blake says the United States “will continue our very strong engagement” in South Asia. President Obama’s November visit to India launched the countries’ “global strategic partnership,” says Blake.

U.S.-North African Partnership
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Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, Jose Fernandez recently unveiled the U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity during the U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference in Algeria. Fernandez described the conference as an important step toward deepening economic relations with Muslim majority countries around the world.

The ACE Awards: Denimatrix
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Guatemala City-based Denimatrix, which opened for business in 2009, makes jeans from cotton grown in the United States. It received the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for its embrace of ethical business and labor practices.

The ACE Awards: Mars Inc.
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Mars Inc. — the U.S.-based company that makes Snickers, the world’s biggest selling candy bar, and other confectionary treats Mars received the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for its work helping farmers in Ghana to produce better cocoa yields. The program, a partnership among Mars, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Cocoa Foundation, invests in research and distribution of tree seedlings to enable farmers to grow more disease-resistant and higher-yielding trees.

The ACE Awards: Cisco
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Cisco Systems Inc., an American maker of information-technology products, receives the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for its work strengthening the Palestinian economy and fostering engagement among Palestinian, American and Israeli businesses. At right, participants in Cisco’s Neta program learn English and technology in a youth club environment.

Obama Denounces Iran Attack / The Carbon Capture Challenge / Native American Art

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President Obama denounces a terrorist attack on a mosque in Iran. Reducing greenhouse gases is going to take more than cap-and-trade. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosts a town hall meeting to discuss the release of the first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. Read our handbook on U.S. media law. The U.S. gives Jordan vehicles to help in its fight to protect intellectual property. Global citizens speak up about climate change. And finally, explore a photo gallery of Native American art.

Obama Denounces Iran Attack
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President Obama denounces a bombing attack targeting Iranian civilians in Chabahar as “disgraceful and cowardly” and says those who carried out the attack must be held accountable. “The murder of innocent civilians in their place of worship during Ashura is a despicable offense,” Obama says.

The Challenge of Carbon Capture
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Cap-and-trade and renewable energy alone likely won’t be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This reality has prompted governments and companies to increasingly look for new and unconventional solutions to the climate problem.

A Diplomacy, Development Review
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A newly released internal study of the U.S. State Department lays out a plan for better coordinating U.S. responses to crises, conflicts and natural disasters around the world. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, unveiled the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which suggests changes in organization, coordination with other U.S. government agencies, and implementation of overseas programs.

Media Law Handbook
What are the privileges and responsibilities of a free press? In Media Law Handbook, Professor Jane Kirtley, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, explores how free societies answer this question.

Protecting Intellectual Property in Jordan
The Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement donates ten vehicles to the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organization headquarters to contribute to Jordan’s robust intellectual property rights enforcement regime.

Global Messages: Climate Change
America.gov asked people around the world to write a message to world leaders about climate change. We received responses from all corners of the globe. Read their messages.

Photo Gallery: Native American Art
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The artistic traditions of American Indians convey the resilience of the United States’ indigenous peoples. Thanks to the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program, which installs art in U.S. diplomatic posts, global audiences can enjoy the talents of many American artists — tribal and otherwise. Explore the work in this photo gallery. At right, a portrait of the legendary Sioux chief Jack Red Cloud.

Obama in Afghanistan / Clinton in Bahrain / Banjo Diplomacy

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President Obama makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan to deliver holiday greetings to the troops. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Iran’s nuclear ambitions are a global concern. We’ve got two stories on trade: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says trade can no longer depend so heavily on consumers, and the U.S. and South Korea wrap up four days of trade talks. A presidential commission releases a controversial new plan on reducing the budget deficit. And finally, find out how the U.S. and Russia are strengthening their relationship, with banjos.

President Obama in Afghanistan
President Obama made a quick, unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday. He traveled there to meet with American officials, speak to Afghan president Hamid Karzai, and thank U.S. troops for their service. Above, Obama is greeted by NATO Commander in Afghanistan General David Petraeus, left, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Elkenberry, center, after stepping off Air Force One.

Iran’s Nuclear Threat
There is “no debate” in the international community over its shared concern that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says. Speaking with Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmed Al Khalifa in Manama, Clinton says a nuclear armed Iran could destabilize the Middle East.

Easing World Trade Imbalances
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says nations that have been overly reliant on exports to fuel economic growth will benefit by pursuing policies that will help boost their own consumer demand. “We can no longer depend so heavily on consumers in the United States, Europe and other developed countries to be engines of global economic growth,” says Locke.

U.S.-Korea Trade Talks Conclude
U.S. and South Korean trade negotiators wrapped up four days of trade talks on a bilateral free trade agreement. An announcement of the details is not expected before negotiators brief President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Cutting the U.S. Deficit
Warning Americans that “the moment of truth” had come, a presidential commission released a sweeping and controversial plan to reduce U.S. chronic budget deficits and slow the growth of the public debt by 2020. The proposal calls for drastic cuts in defense and other government spending, the elimination of popular tax breaks, and an increase in taxes most working Americans pay for social programs.

Building Bridges with Banjos
The banjo, a traditional American instrument, is helping strengthen relations between the American and Russian people. The California-based Deering Banjo Company recently chose Liza Karpacheva, a 15-year-old Russian orphan from Obninsk, Russia (sister city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee), to receive the Brian Friesen Banjo Award. Karpacheva, right, is the first non-American to receive this award.

Obama and NATO / A U.S.-E.U. Energy Agreement / Nueva York

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President Obama attends the NATO and U.S.-E.U. Summits in Lisbon and discusses relations with Europe in an op-ed. The U.S.-EU Energy Council comes up with an alternative energy agreement. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will attend a European security summit next month. The U.S. Navy launches a Persian Gulf rescue. The U.S. and Russia want to save an endangered big cat. And finally, check out a photo gallery about Nueva York.

The U.S.-E.U. Relationship
President Obama praised the U.S.-European relationship for its deep cooperation and close ties as he arrived in Lisbon for the 2010 NATO Summit and U.S.-European Union Summit. Obama, right, added that these summits offer “an opportunity to deepen our cooperation even further and to ensure that NATO—the most successful alliance in human history—remains as relevant in this century as it was in the last.”  

Obama on Europe and America
As he arrives in Lisbon for the NATO and U.S.-European Union Summits, President Barack Obama calls America’s relationship with Europe “the cornerstone of our engagement with the world” in this op-ed. 

A U.S.-E.U. Energy Agreement
The U.S.-EU Energy Council agrees to enhance coordinated efforts to find additional sources of energy and to coordinate research and regulations. The deal was announced on the sidelines of the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton.

Clinton to Join OSCE Summit
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will attend the 2010 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Summit December 1-2 in Kazakhstan, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake says.

U.S. Navy Rescues Iranian Sailors
U.S. Navy sailors come to the assistance of two stranded Iranian mariners in the Persian Gulf, providing them with care until they could be picked up by an Iranian coast guard vessel.

Teaming Up to Save the Tiger
The United States, Russia and others are meeting at the 2010 International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, November 21–25 to find new ways to protect the world’s ever-dwindling population of tigers.

Photo Gallery: Nueva York (1613-1945)
This fall, the exhibit “Nueva York (1613-1945)” will document four centuries of cross-cultural influence and cooperation between Latin America and Spain and New York. This photo gallery shows some of the pieces on display in the exhibit. At right, a baseball used by Esteban Bellán, who in 1869 became the first Latin American ballplayer to play in the major leagues.

The NATO and U.S.-E.U. Summits / Fighting Cholera in Haiti / Persian Poetry in New York

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President Obama heads to the NATO and U.S.-E.U. Summits in Lisbon, Portugal. Learn what the United States is doing to help Haiti battle a cholera outbreak. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton releases a study on religious freedom and discusses the importance of protecting Americans traveling overseas. According to a new report, Asian water supplies are at risk. A top U.S. terrorism official says cooperation among nations has been successful in fighting terrorism. A group of African journalists discuss professional issues. And, in New York City, a museum displays linkages between New York and the Spanish world, while a bar showcases Persian poetry.

Upcoming NATO and EU Summits
President Obama, right, will be attending the 2010 NATO and U.S.-European Union Summits in Lisbon on November 19th and 20th. The meetings are intended to demonstrate the central role of the United States’ relationship with Europe and the U.S.-European capability to meet global challenges.



An “Aggressive Campaign” Against Cholera
U.S. officials promise an “aggressive campaign” to help Haitian authorities fight the spread of cholera in their country through prevention techniques such as providing clean, chlorinated drinking water, oral rehydration therapy, education and additional funding to expand cholera treatment centers.

Religious Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy
Promoting religious freedom is a core element of U.S. diplomacy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says in releasing the 2010 Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom.

Protecting Americans Overseas
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says it is important for the State Department and the American private sector to cooperate on protecting Americans who travel overseas.

Asian Water Supplies at Risk
A new report from the U.S. Agency for International Development outlines steps that can help mitigate the impacts of climate-change-induced glacier melt in the greater Himalayas area.

Nations Team Up Against Terror
Cooperation among nations fighting the global war on terror has been remarkable in the nine years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, says Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s top counterterrorism official.

African Journalists in the U.S.
African journalists visiting the United States as part of the fifth Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists have a lot to say about professional standards and freedom of the press as they finished their three-week stay in the United States.

Spanish Connections in NY
This fall, the exhibit “Nueva York (1613-1945),” a collaboration of El Museo Del Barrio and the New-York Historical Society, will document four centuries of cross-cultural influence and cooperation between Latin America and Spain and New York.

In NY, New Persian Poetry
Since beginning five years ago, the Persian Arts Festival in New York has grown to offer music, films and other visual arts as well as literary events. Its audience is “very diverse,” says founder Mona Kayhan, including many people with no personal connection to Iran or Persian culture. At right, Sholeh Wolpé reads aloud from her work at the festival. 

Obama in South Korea / Sharing Power in Iraq / Trying to Explain Iran

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President Obama discusses new G20 regulations and urges North Korea to get serious about nuclear disarmament. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton applauds a new Iraq power-sharing deal. In China, clean energy policies are a priority. A new food security fund aims to reduce global poverty. Pakistani Peace Builders help with flood relief. And finally, meet Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American author whose goal is to explain the sometimes baffling Iranian landscape.

G20 Agrees on Regulations, Trade
The Group of 20 major economies agrees to implement tighter financial controls to prevent another global financial crisis and to achieve more sustainable and balanced economic growth. “For the first time, we spelled out the actions that are required … to achieve the sustained and balanced growth that we need,” says President Obama, right.



Obama to N. Korea: Get Serious
North Korea must show “a seriousness of purpose” before nuclear disarmament talks can resume, President Obama says. “We’re not interested in just going through the motions with the same result.” 

In Iraq, New Power Sharing
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praises Iraq’s new power-sharing agreement, which was struck by rival factions after eight months of negotiations. “Iraq’s political leaders have worked together to agree on an inclusive government that represents the will of the Iraqi people,” says Clinton

Toward A Greener China
China will aggressively pursue clean energy policies for the foreseeable future, driven mostly by the desire to reduce its dependence on overseas energy supplies, according to U.S. experts.

A New Food Security Fund
Partners in the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program is a new fund set up to increase agriculture productivity and reduce poverty. Ethiopia, Niger and Mongolia will receive the fund’s second round of grants totaling $97 million. The fund is supported by the United States, Canada, South Korea, Spain, Australia and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Pakistani Peace Builders
Pakistani Peace Builders (PPB), an independent cultural diplomacy campaign launched in May, aims to counteract American stereotypes and misperceptions of Pakistanis. Following the devastating floods that struck Pakistan in late July, PPB added a humanitarian angle to its cultural mission and cofounded Relief4Pakistan to mobilize flood relief funds.

Explaining Iran
Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American author, has spent years writing about the complicated relationship between the United States and an Iranian political, social and religious landscape that outsiders find baffling. In his latest book, The Ayatollahs’ Democracy, Majd, right, interviews Iranian figures of all stripes to explain a pivotal and dramatic moment in modern Iranian history, the highly contested 2009 election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner.

Justice in Cambodia / A Storm Watch in Haiti / The Shahnameh

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During a visit to Cambodia, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls for justice. Preparing for his own trip to Asia, President Obama will focus on the economy at the upcoming G20 Summit and APEC Forum. In Haiti, aid workers prepare for a tropical storm. Find out what Islam teaches about protecting the planet. And finally, a 1,000-year-old book commissioned by Iranian kings is now on display at the Smithsonian.

Seeking Justice in Cambodia
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urges Cambodian leaders to confront their country’s troubled past by bringing to justice Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity in the 1970s. Clinton’s visit to Cambodia is part of her 13-day trip to meet with leaders of at least eight East Asian and Pacific nations. At right, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong greets Secretary Clinton at the Phnom Penh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


Economy the Issue at APEC, G20
Fostering global economic growth through the Group of 20 (G20) advanced economies is fundamental to a lasting recovery at home, says a senior Obama administration official. The economy figures strongly into President Obama’s four-nation Asian trip that includes stops in India and Indonesia before the G20 in South Korea and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Japan.

Haiti’s Tropical Storm Watch
The U.S. Agency for International Development has 20 members of its Disaster Assistance Response Team in Haiti to help prepare the country for Tropical Storm Tomas, which could hit the island this week.

Islam and the Environment
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin was recently in Washington to talk about his upcoming book, Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. Abdul-Matin says his book is written not only with the Muslim reader in mind, but for anyone interested in learning more about Islam’s connection to the environment.

Photo Gallery: The Art of the Shahnameh
The Poet Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh combines myth and history in the epic tale of a nation. The Smithsonian Institution’s Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. is celebrating the book’s 1,000th anniversary by showing illustrations from grand editions commissioned by kings of Iran. At left, after a journey to the end of the world, Alexander (an important figure in the Shahnameh, known to others as Alexander the Great), encounters a talking tree that foretells his death. Explore this photo gallery featuring other such images from the Shahnameh.

A Thwarted Bomb Plot / Room to Read / Election Day in the USA

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President Obama praises the coordinated effort of security authorities from the United States and its allies in heading off attempted aircraft bombings. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to the East Asia Summit. The Obama administration seeks renewed international cooperation to fight corruption. A young entrepreneur from Bangladesh has a growing agribusiness. Read about an organization that opens a new children’s library somewhere in the world every four hours. And, in the U.S., Americans go to the polls to choose national, and state, leaders. 

International Cooperation Helped Thwart Attack
The Obama administration credits the diligence and cooperation of security services from the United States and its partners overseas for identifying and neutralizing two bombs placed aboard cargo jets that were bound for the United States. President Obama, right, said the plot was a “credible terrorist threat” that counterterrorism professionals are very taking seriously.


Clinton Highlight East Asia Summit
The United States wants to help strengthen the East Asia Summit as a key forum for political and strategic issues in the Asia-Pacific region, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says. “The conversations that take place here are of great consequence for every country in the Asia-Pacific region,” she says.

Snapshots of the Muslim World 
Derek Brown spent 14 months photographing people in 28 different countries including Pakistan, Senegal, Jordan and Turkey, to demonstrate the diversity of the Muslim world. His exhibit of photographs, “Imagining the Muslim World,” is on display through mid-November at Busboys & Poets in Washington D.C.

Bolder Action on Corruption
The Obama administration is pushing for bolder efforts to fight corruption, building on progress made last year by the international community. In 2009, state parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption agreed to establish a peer review mechanism of compliance with the convention.

Agribusiness in Bangladesh
Mazharul Anowar, a young entrepreneur from Bangladesh, is expanding his integrated food business. He was inspired by a recent trip to the U.S. through a State Department program which introduces foreign visitors to U.S. counterparts who give them advice on developing their careers in their home countries.

Making “Room to Read”
Room to Read began in 1998 and now operates in nine countries — India, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zambia and South Africa. On average, Room to Read opens a children’s library every four hours.

37 States to Choose Governors
No presidential contest will top U.S. ballots on November 2, but citizens in 37 states are choosing governors who will make key decision on everything from spending policies to appointing judges. In the U.S. system, states levy taxes, establish license fees, determine how state revenues are spent, regulate businesses and administer the systems of health and safety services that affect the daily lives of their citizens.

Volunteers and Election Day
Election Day in the United States is the culmination of months of hard work — a day when volunteers of all ages and backgrounds enjoy the excitement of democracy in action. Most political organizations rely heavily on unpaid volunteers to mount effective campaigns, and both parties actively recruit volunteers on national, state and local levels.

Obama Presents National Health Care to Iowa

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President Barack Obama traveled to the State of Iowa Thursday to present the newly signed universal health care legislation.

“On Tuesday – after a year of debate, a century of trying, after so many of you shared your stories and your heartaches and your hopes – that promise was finally fulfilled. And today, health insurance reform is the law of the land all across America,” Obama said at the University of Iowa’s Field House in Iowa City.

Obama signed the complex and health care bill into law Wednesday after a yearlong debate among congressional legislators and several alterations to the original proposal. The plan was also debated in town hall meetings across the United States. But Congress voted to pass it Sunday by a vote of 219-212.

This Midwestern state is significant because the Iowa Caucuses are held every presidential election year and are the first major step towards selecting nominees for the U.S. presidency.

In Iowa, the president focused his address on the advantages to small-business owners, citing a local bookstore owner’s commitment to keep his employees covered.

“Starting today, small business owners can sit down at the end of the week, look at their expenses, and they can begin calculating how much money they’re going to save,” Obama told the crowd of several thousand people. “And maybe they can even use those savings to not only provide insurance but also create jobs. This health care tax credit is pro-jobs, it is pro-business, and it starts this year, and it’s starting because of you.”

Obama also named local citizens who were not covered by their insurances for various procedures.

“I met David Gallagher … [who] was denied coverage because he once had a complication-free hernia surgery,” Obama said. “But now, because of this reform, David Gallagher can finally have access to health insurance again. That starts this year. This year, insurance companies will no longer be able to drop people’s coverage when they get sick,” he said, “or place lifetime limits or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care they can receive.”