MESSAGE FROM ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOHNNIE CARSON

UNCLAS STATE 086633

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: XA
SUBJECT: MESSAGE FROM ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOHNNIE CARSON
TO ALL AF


1. Events in Africa have kept me on the move since I was
sworn in as the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs on
May 7. Having just returned to Washington from traveling
with Secretary Clinton, I wanted to take this opportunity to
thank the Africa Bureau team for your work over the past few
months, including supporting the Secretary's successful
seven-nation trip to Africa, the President's trip to Ghana
July 10-11, Deputy Secretary Jack Lew's trip to Tanzania and
Ethiopia June 29-July 3, and the Bureau's transition to the
new Administration. As we move forward, I want to emphasize
my commitment to working with you to build on our past
successes and to meet the significant challenges that lie
ahead of us.


2. We are off to a good start. The Secretary's trip to
Africa was a complex and ambitious endeavor, with stops in
Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde. But it all went
extremely well and I think we helped advance the
Administration's foreign policy objectives. Both the
President and the Secretary are keenly interested in Africa
and are committed to making it one of the focuses of their
foreign policy. The early trips to Africa by our senior
leadership reflect this, as does their engagement with a
variety of African leaders in Washington. I look forward to
working with all of you to advance the Administration's
agenda in Africa. We will face a number of challenges along
the way, but I know that we are committed to improving and
expanding our relations with Africa.


3. The President's speech in Accra outlines clearly the
Administration's commitment to Africa and the strategic
direction of our policies. We will continue to work with our
partners in the region and the international community to
strengthen and expand Africa's democratic institutions; to
support political and economic development in Africa through
various USG-funded programs; and to continue our efforts to
prevent, mitigate, and end conflict on the continent. We
will also continue to focus on our HIV/AIDS prevention
efforts and the implementation of Millennium Challenge
Cooperation Compacts and African Growth and Opportunity Act
programs, as well as the Obama Administration's new food
security initiative.



4. On a very personal note, I want to let all of you in the
AF family at home and across the continent know how extremely
honored I feel to have been selected to lead the Africa
Bureau and how proud I am to return to the Bureau and region
that I have called home for many years.


5. You are the Bureau's most important asset-- the dedicated
and talented Foreign Service officers, Civil Service
employees, and Foreign Service nationals who make up our
team. We have a big agenda in front of us, but we are a
strong and dedicated Bureau and I know we have the ability to
accomplish our goals.


6. The recent report of the Office of the Inspector General
highlighted several serious challenges we face as a Bureau.
While sobering, the report provides us with a useful tool for
helping us to strengthen our operational effectiveness. I am
committed to renewing the Bureau's focus on leadership and
management, and to improving our ability to recruit, retain,
and advance the high-caliber personnel we need to
successfully execute our mission.


7. Securing the resources needed to conduct diplomacy is an
integral part of my overall strategy for the Bureau. Working
with Secretary Clinton and many of our other colleagues, I
will do my best to fight for the resources needed to achieve
the President's foreign policy goals in Africa. I look
forward to working with all of you.


Best regards,
Johnnie Carson
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs
CLINTON