Remarks & Statements
Introduction of Secretary Clinton’s Remarks by Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis
Budapest Cyber Conference, October 4, 2012
From left: Ambassador Kounalakis; Secretary Clinton’s Coordinator for Cyber Issues and head of the U.S. Delegation Christopher Painter; and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (photo: Csaba Pelsőczy/kormany.hu)
Ambassador Kounalakis' Remarks:
- as delivered -
Thank you, George Schöpflin, and greetings to everyone participating in the 2012 Budapest Cyber Conference. My name is Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, and I am the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. Before I introduce the video message from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, I would like to say a few words about the importance of this conference.
The full range of cyber issues – including Internet freedom, Internet governance, cyber security, combating cyber crime, and developing effective norms for state action in cyberspace – are becoming an even greater foreign policy priority for the United States. Bringing these issues together, and discussing them with a multi-stakeholder approach – involving governments, the private sector, civil society – is how the United States believes cyber policy should be addressed, and it is reflected in the organization of this conference.
The United States applauds efforts to understand how we can better use the Internet to offer our citizens an opportunity to provide feedback to leaders on their policies and decisions, and to promote more inclusive government. These freedoms are an essential element of the democratic values we share.
Moreover, the United States firmly believes that we should not sacrifice freedom for security, we must and can have them both.
The United States delegation, led by the Secretary’s Coordinator for Cyber Issues, Mr. Christopher Painter and representing the Departments of State and Homeland Security, and I would like to thank our Hungarian hosts for their tremendous hospitality. Preparations for this conference have been a major undertaking, and were done with great collaboration and care. I understand London was an excellent event, but it’s evident that Seoul will also have a tough act to follow.
And now, I have the great pleasure of introducing the Secretary of State of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.