Secretary Remarks

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Cabinet Exit Memo Washington, DC January 5, 2017     Introduction When President Obama took office in 2009, the United States was engaged in two costly wars, faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and had a diminished standing with many of our allies and partners around the world. The starting point for this Presidency was one of the toughest I have ever seen in my decades of public service. Over the past eight years, President Ob...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Antarctica, Argentina, Canada , Chad , Chile, China, Cuba , France , India , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Italy , Korea, North , Libya , Nigeria , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Somalia , Sudan , Syria , Thailand , Ukraine , United Kingdom , United States , Western Hemisphere, Yemen

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC January 5, 2017 SECRETARY KERRY: Hi, everybody. Matt, welcome back. QUESTION: Happy New Year. Thank you. SECRETARY KERRY: Congratulations, Matt. QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you very much. SECRETARY KERRY: A little Vaille. QUESTION: Yeah. SECRETARY KERRY: No sleep. QUESTION: Happy New Year, Mr. Secretary. QUESTION: What’s that? SECRETARY KERRY: What? QUESTION: Happy New Year, sir. SECRETARY KERRY: Happy New Year to everybody. Thank you all. Great ...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Antarctica, China, Colombia , Cuba , Egypt , France , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Korea, North , Libya , Nigeria , Norway , Russia , Sudan , Syria , Turkey , Ukraine , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC December 13, 2016 SECRETARY KERRY: Hi, good afternoon. AUDIENCE: Hi. SECRETARY KERRY: Aw, come on, you can do better than that. Hi. AUDIENCE: Hi. SECRETARY KERRY: All right, all right. Now everybody is getting excited again. Whoa, let me just make sure – here we go. So hello, everybody, and welcome. I am really happy to welcome you all here to the Ben Franklin Room of the State Department, and Happy Holidays to all of you. My wife Teresa is over...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Iraq , Pakistan , Sudan , Tunisia , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Human Rights and Democracy

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Parco dei Principi Hotel Rome, Italy December 2, 2016 SECRETARY KERRY: (Via interpreter) Thank you very much, Paolo, and good evening. I would like to thank Foreign Minister Gentiloni, the president of the Italian Republic, the Instituto di Studi Internazionale for hosting this successful conference on the Mediterranean. (Inaudible) a special friendship. I am very grateful to you for the many courtesies that you have afforded me as Secretary of State, and it’s...

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Regions: Antarctica, China, France , Iran , Iraq , Italy , Libya , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Tunisia , Turkey , United Kingdom , United States , Yemen

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State New Delhi, India August 31, 2016 SECRETARY KERRY: Swati, good morning. Thank you very, very much. Thank you very – you guys all deserve an award for being able to get here today. (Laughter.) I don’t know if you came in boats or amphibious vehicles of some kind, but I salute you for being here. Thank you very, very much for making the effort, and I am extremely honored to be here. Swati, thank you for that generous introduction. And thank you, Dr. Rao. It...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Bangladesh , China, France , India , Japan , Jordan , Pakistan , Philippines , Russia , Syria , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Rosa Kempinski Hotel Nairobi, Kenya August 22, 2016 SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you, Mshila. Thank you (inaudible). Thank you very, very much. What are these big boards on the back of the wall here? Can you explain those to me? Mshila? Who can explain that to me, these boards? PARTICIPANT: No microphone. (Laughter.) SECRETARY KERRY: No microphone? Powerful voice, though. PARTICIPANT: I can explain one of the boards. SECRETARY KERRY: One of the ...

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Regions: Burundi , Kenya , Somalia , Sudan , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Rosa Kempinski Hotel Nairobi, Kenya August 22, 2016 FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMED: I am delighted to welcome Secretary John Kerry back to Nairobi, and for a second visit in the last, I think, one year. The last time you were here was in May. SECRETARY KERRY: Yes. FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMED: Yes, so thank you very, very much for coming back. I think it’s a pure reflection of where our relationship is, and which is growing and growing very, very, I think, in a very hea...

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Regions: Iran , Kenya , Russia , Somalia , Sudan , Syria , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia June 5, 2016 FOREIGN MINISTER PUREVSUREN: (Via interpreter) Good morning. On the invitation by the Mongolian Government, John Kerry, the Secretary, has been making state visit to Mongolia. Mongolia and the U.S. has – have been expanding its cooperation in a variety of sectors. From the beginning of the democratic movement in Mongolia, the U.S. was our partner, one of the most important, third neighbor of Mongol...

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Regions: Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan , Mongolia , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy

Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC May 27, 2016 On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the people of Ethiopia as you celebrate your national day on May 28. Ethiopia has faced enormous challenges this year, but has continued to demonstrate leadership on development in Africa. While confronting the worst drought in 50 years, you have continued to fight poverty while, at the same time, hosting nearly three quarters of a million refugees from nearby co...

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Regions: Ethiopia

Topics: Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC January 7, 2016 SECRETARY KERRY: Happy New Year. QUESTION: Happy New Year. SECRETARY KERRY: How are you all doing? Nice to see you all. Thank you very much. So I really just – I wanted to drop by this afternoon not to steal any of John’s thunder, if that’s even possible, by taking questions. There will be plenty of time for that, believe me, over the course of the next few weeks and beyond that. But I wanted to share with you a coupl...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Argentina, China, Iran , Korea, North , Mexico , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Turkey , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Charles Hotel Cambridge, Massachusetts October 13, 2015 MR ALLISON: So thank you very much. Apologies for a short delay, but it’s a great honor to welcome to Harvard tonight our Secretary of State, and I’m Graham Allison, the Director of the Belfer Center. I would say we have not seen the Secretary of State exhibit such energy and determination in bringing home an agreement like the Iranian nuclear agreement. So the real purpose for me tonight is to, wit...

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Regions: Afghanistan, China, Denmark , Egypt , Ethiopia , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Jordan , Korea, North , Lebanon , Libya , Oman , Peru , Russia , Sudan , Syria , Turkey , Uganda , Ukraine , United Kingdom , United States , Venezuela , Vietnam

Topics: Climate and Environment, Combating Drugs and Crime, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Op-Ed John Kerry Secretary of State Susan E. Rice, National Security Advisor The Washington Post December 15, 2014 In 2011, the world’s newest nation was born amid joyous celebrations. The international community welcomed South Sudan not just with cheers but also with promises of help. The hope and promise of that day are now at grave risk of being squandered if the nation’s leaders don’t at long last provide leadership. Violence that erupted in the capital city of Juba last December s...

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Regions: Sudan , United States

Topics: Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Department of State Washington, DC December 7, 2014 Well, I could tell by the number of people who were dancing at your tables and by Jessye Norman’s and Herbie Hancock’s smile, that was pretty good. It was all right. (Laughter.) Anyway, they were great. (Applause.) I was waiting for “Anchors Aweigh” as they went out though; we didn’t get it. (Laughter.) Good evening and welcome, everybody, to the State Department. We are really privile...

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Regions: Algeria , China, United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Global Women's Issues, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Waldorf Astoria New York City September 22, 2014 Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you all very, very much. My apologies for being a little bit late, and my apologies ahead of time for having to leave here after I speak, because we have a meeting taking place shortly on the important subject of Syria – Syria, excuse me, Libya. And I’ve got a group of foreign ministers coming in momentarily, so I appreciate your indulgence on that. Anne Ri...

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Regions: Iraq , Syria , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Ronald Reagan Building Washington, DC September 19, 2014 SECRETARY KERRY: (Applause.) Thank you very much. Eliot, thank you very, very much. I accept the nomination. (Laughter.) It’s wonderful to be here. I give you a lot of credit, Eliot. As someone who represents New York’s 16th District, as someone from the Bronx, thank you very much for not mentioning that the Boston Red Sox are 26 games out of first place. (Laughter.) As I had the privilege of servi...

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Regions: Ethiopia , Iraq , Solomon Islands , Sudan , Syria , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Global Women's Issues, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, and Hillary Clinton George Marshall Conference Center Washington, DC September 3, 2014 UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: Good afternoon. It is my great pleasure to welcome everyone here today for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new United States Diplomacy Center. We are celebrating the start of construction of the center, a state-of-the-art museum and educational resource that wil...

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Regions: Burma , China, Estonia , France , Iran , Ireland , Jordan , Korea, North , Pakistan , Tunisia , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State East-West Center Honolulu, Hawaii August 13, 2014 MR. MORRISON: Well, thank you. Aloha. I want to welcome everyone. And for our online audience, and also for the Secretary, I’d like to describe who is here in our audience. We have the mayor of Honolulu, Mayor Caldwell. We have our senator, Mazie Hirono. We have our former governor, George Ariyoshi, and our other former governor, John Waihee. We have many members of the business and intellectual and public affa...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Australia , Burma , China, Hong Kong , Indonesia , Iran , Japan , Kiribati , Korea, North , Philippines , Solomon Islands , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam

Topics: Climate and Environment, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC June 20, 2014 World Refugee Day is more than a moment marked on a calendar. It is a time to honor the strength and resilience of refugees around the world and renew our determination to support them as they rebuild their lives and communities. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees now counts the number of refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons at 51 million. That number is staggering by any measure. It represent...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Jordan , Syria , United States

Topics: Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC August 19, 2013 This is an important day for all of us to pause and join with our colleagues in honoring the committed staff who work to save the lives of others, often at great risk to their own. World Humanitarian Day is a commemoration of their sacrifice and a sober reminder that our work is far from done. My family is a Foreign Service family. We saw what my Dad committed his life to doing in dangerous places and we saw what my mother did ...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Algeria , Somalia , Sudan , Syria , United States

Topics: Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Address John Kerry Secretary of State University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA February 20, 2013 Video is available with closed captioning on YouTube . Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for an extraordinarily warm welcome, Charlottesville. I am really honored to be here. Senator Tim Kaine, thank you very, very much for your generous words of introduction. Tim, as he mentioned, has only been on the Foreign Relations Committee, I guess now for a total of a few week...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Brazil , Cameroon , Canada , China, France , Germany , Indonesia , Iran , Japan , Kyrgyzstan , Mali , Mozambique , Pakistan , Sudan , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Ronald Reagan Building Washington, DC February 15, 2013 Video is available with closed captioning on YouTube . Thank you very much. Thank you. So I just said to Raj, you had to remind me of Red Sox travails. Eighty-six years, well, we got over that. Now, today I wake up and I’m mourning Kevin Youkilis, a Yankee? I don’t know. (Laughter.) Anyway, I don’t want to get him in trouble. He said some very nice things about the Red Sox, and I don’t w...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Egypt , Israel , Jordan , Pakistan , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Ben Franklin Room Washington, DC February 6, 2013 Thank you. Mr. Vice President, thank you for an unbelievably generous, warm Oath of Office and your comments before them. I want to share with all of you that as a recovering politician – (laughter) – I’ve grown used to being sworn at; it’s really nice to be sworn in. (Laughter and applause.) I will say more about the Vice President in a moment, but I want to say thank you to my colleagues fro...

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Regions: Afghanistan, France , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Townhall Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Newseum Washington, DC January 29, 2013 Video is available with closed captioning on YouTube . MS. SALES: Hello. I’m Leigh Sales from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Welcome to this town hall-style event with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has her last day at the State Department this Friday. This is a town hall with a difference though because we have people all around the world ready to ask to questions from Britain to...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Antarctica, Australia , Chile, China, Colombia , Germany , India , Iran , Italy , Japan , Korea, North , Malawi , Mali , Mexico , Nigeria , Pakistan , Russia , Sudan , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Global Women's Issues, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Georgetown University Washington, DC October 18, 2012 Video is available with closed captioning on YouTube Thank you. Well, it is wonderful to be back here at Georgetown and in one of the most beautiful venues not only in Washington but anywhere, to have this chance to talk with you about an issue that will definitely shape your futures, and to share with you some thoughts about what that actually means. As Dean Lancaster said, I am a Hoya by marriage. (...

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Regions: Canada , Chile, China, Colombia , India , Iran , Iraq , Mexico , Norway , Sudan , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs

Address Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC December 19, 2011 Thank you.  Well, it is wonderful to be back at Georgetown to give all of the students an excuse not to keep studying for their last finals.  (Laughter.)  That’s what accounts for the enthusiastic response here in Gaston Hall.  But thank you so much, President DeGioia.  This great university has such a long history of nurturing diplomats and peacemakers and at least one former president who ...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Chile, Egypt , Iraq , Ireland , Kenya , Liberia , Nepal , Senegal , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Energy, Global Health, Global Women's Issues, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, DC December 14, 2011 Thank you very much, Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, who has been an absolutely essential leader on behalf of our policies in Africa and in particular with respect to South Sudan. And I want publicly to thank him for all of his work. President Kiir, it is an honor to welcome you here as a head of state along with your ministers and distinguished delegation. I also wish to thank our co-hosts...

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Regions: Botswana , Norway , Sudan , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Interview Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State The Newseum Washington, DC December 14, 2011 QUESTION: And I would like to conclude and highlight this discussion on innovation and the global marketplace by introducing the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (Applause.) While you put on your mike, there was some discussion earlier about – one of the participants said, if there were more women involved in business and all these other things, that there would be more innovation and all of that. A...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Brazil , China, India , Iran , Iraq , Pakistan , Russia , South Africa , Tunisia , Turkey , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State UN Headquarters New York City November 16, 2010 SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, and thank you for that excellent statement. I want to commend the United Kingdom for calling this important session, giving us the opportunity to help chart a way toward a durable peace for all of the people of Sudan. And I want to commend the Security Council for their recent visit to Sudan, which was extremely important. I also want to thank the Secretary General fo...

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Regions: Russia , Sudan , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks for AGOA Forum Secretary Condoleezza Rice Washington, DC July 18, 2007 AGOA Fact Sheet Hello everyone. It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to talk with you today. I have participated in the previous two AGOA Forums, and I really regret that I am not able to be with you in person today in Accra. I know the U.S. delegation is being ably headed by our Trade Representative, Susan Schwab, and I want to thank her for her leadership and for her leadership and for her dedication to free trade. As ...

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Regions: Ghana , Iraq , Liberia , United Kingdom

Topics: Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy