American Political and Economic Leadership: The Challenges of the Global Economy.(Madeleine Albright address)(Transcript)

Remarks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC, April 14, 1999.

Thank you very much, Tom; I needed that. I will be very happy, in our Q & A session, to talk a little bit more about my activities of the last 48 hours.

I also have to say that in my various meetings with Tom Donahue, we have talked a lot about the very natural partnership we have in pursuing U.S. national interests. We are working very hard together on behalf of those interests. I think that often, people have not understood that the business community and those who dedicate their lives to economics are the natural constituency for the State Department as we move into the 21 st century. So it's a great pleasure to be with you, Tom, Klaus Schwab, distinguished guests, colleagues, and friends. I'm very, very pleased to welcome you to the Department of State.

I know it's not Davos, but it is still quite fitting to have representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and the World Economic Forum here under this roof at this time. For we live in an era when the connections between the business community, the global economy, and the ways and means of U.S. foreign policy are intimately related.

That's why I want to thank the leadership and members of the Chamber for working with us so closely and also to recognize the help our business people have provided in reconstruction efforts in Central America. To those of you …