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