So now to get into all the details of Secretary Clinton's trip to Africa. As you saw from the previous post, the Secretary arrived in Kenya, and had a full schedule of events on her do-to list while there.
First up was a 9:00am (thats 2:00am EST!) meeting at the AGOA Forum Ministerial Opening Ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya. Secretary Clinton delivered the opening remarks.
She spoke in front of representatives of more than 35 African nations. Her remarks sent a message of support for Africa's developing economies as well as focusing on good governance and women's rights as ways to build economic growth.
"We believe in Africa's promise. We are committed to Africa's future and we will be partners with Africa's people... The social, political and economic marginalization of women across Africa has left a void in this continent that undermines progress and prosperity every day... Yet we know across Africa women are doing the work of a whole continent."
According to CNN, days before her arrival, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga was quoted in the local media saying Kenya does not need any more lectures on its governance and needs more advice on how to build trade with the rest of the world.
So of course, the Secretary also suggested African nations can increase trade opportunities by trading more within Africa.
"The nations of Africa trade the least with each other than any region of the world... The biggest single opportunity you have right now is to open up trade with each other."
Also during her speech she mentioned getting her hair done by a woman in Nairobi. (She has done stuff like this before, read this article to see who did Hillary's hair in Trinidad!) I love when stuff like this happens!
"This morning I had the chance to meet two women living here in Nairobi, because I had to get my hair done. The women in this audience know that. I think they did a good job, too. My hairdos are like subject of PhD theses so, you know, I want everybody to know I got a good one in Nairobi."Watch the video clip of Hillary talking about her hair below:
I will post her full opening remarks here when they become available so for now, watch the video below:
After her speech at the AGOA, she was schedule to meet with Kenyan leaders. She attended a bilateral meeting with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Nairobi, Kenya and held a joint press conference afterward.
One interesting point during the press availability was this little tid-bit on North Korea. Read the full response on North Korea in this previous post here.
"QUESTION: And could you also confirm, the North Koreans say that there was an apology on behalf of former President Clinton?Read the full press conference here or watch below:SECRETARY CLINTON: The last question is that’s not true, that did not occur."
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