Ambassador's speech on international trade and economic recovery in San Antonio
I am very happy to be speaking here in San Antonio, a city that in many ways symbolises the future of the United States – economically, demographically and politically. I would like to thank Barbara Schneider of the World Affairs Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the City of San Antonio for hosting me.
You will all be aware of Britain's role in the birth of Texas. Richard Ballantine of Scotland, William Blazeby of England, Samuel Burns of Ireland, and 23 others born in the British Isles, were among those who crossed the line in the sand drawn by Colonel Travis at the Alamo. During Texas’s period as an independent country, between 1836 and 1845, Britain was one of the few nations in the world to recognise it.
If you visit London’s St. James Street today, you can still find a plaque marking the building which housed the Texas Embassy for those nine years. You have to look up though. It’s quite high on the wall. I understand this is less a reflection of the height of the average Texan, and more to do with the fact that a number of Texan tourists, so overcome with pride at finding their Embassy, tried to take the plaque home as a memento.
A couple of weeks ago I took my seat in Washington’s Capitol building and listened to the President’s State of the Union address. What struck me most – apart from an almost Westminster-like level of boisterousness – and that was just in the Diplomatic Corps seats – were the challenges. They are, by and large, the same challenges that my government faces. How to ensure sustained economic recovery; boost job creation; increase our skills and research base; build a new energy economy for the 21st century? And do all of the above against the backdrop of budget deficits the likes of which we have not seen since the Second World War?
These are all shared challenges. Because we live in an increasingly interconnected, globalised world, we must work through these problems together – two champions of open markets, the UK and Texas – or they will not be solved. This is the common agenda I’d like to discuss with you today.
|
OPML |
Search This Site |
Home
•
del.icio.us
digg
facebook