Remarks to the Launch of Leaders Engaged in New Democracies Network

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Government House
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
July 9, 2012

Thank you. Thank you, President Elbegdorj, and it’s wonderful to be back here in Mongolia and see this young, vibrant democracy in action. And it’s a pleasure to be here with all of you this afternoon to help launch the LEND Network, a new tool that will help countries navigate the transition to sustainable democracy.

When my colleague Minister Urmas Paet and I first announced this initiative back in March, we had three principles in mind: First, new democracies can and should learn from those that have already made the transition, overcome some of the obstacles, and have matured. Over the past two decades, more than 40 countries became democracies, and that represents a wealth of hard-won knowledge that we need to capture and share. Second, the pace of political change is accelerating and we have to try to keep up. That’s why we think leaders in emerging democracies can benefit from having access to immediate, on-demand information. And third, this task is too big for governments alone. We believe we should tap into the expertise and resources of the private sector and civil society. MORE.

(Source: state.gov)