This was an important trip. And this was an important trip. As you know, I had the root cause of strategy that is designed to address the issue of irregular migration into the United States. So we came here today to make a clear statement about our administration support for what the people of Honduras clearly said they want. They turned out in record numbers in the collection and they seem to be desirous of a democracy that is devoid of corruption and that can meet their essential needs and in particular, their economic needs, and their human rights, which are critical pillars in our root causes strategy. The conversation that I had today them with the now president, was rooted in those issues. It was about our intention to prioritize the importance of her agenda as it relates to the Combating of corruption. I talked extensively about why that is important. There are obvious reasons but the reasons include a connection to the second point, which is the need for them to have economic security and to do well economically so that their people don't want to leave. And the connection is pretty obvious. When we talk about our attention to dealing with the economic support we can give countries in Central America, a lot of it includes partnerships with CEOs and with our private sector in the United States with American corporations, what they want to know they can do business in a country where there will be adherence to rule of law, where there will be consistency in terms of the judiciary, where there will be consistency in terms of regulations. So these issues are interconnected. And speaking of interconnection and interdependence, not only is there an interconnection and independence, interdependence between the United States and Honduras on these issues as it relates to the effect which is irregular migration, but also we talked about the public health issues that are confronting all of us we talked about COVID-19 and the work we have already done as an administration to assist on floor and the work we will continue to do. The President has a particular interest in addressing the pediatric needs of her population. And so we discussed some of the detail in that regard. It was a good discussion. It was in depth, there were many due outs, and we look forward to a partnership and we feel very optimistic about the future potential of this relationship.
When you when you compare that to the Northern Triangle countries, are there different things that each of them needs has gone to Guatemala and Honduras for the first time? What are the differences that
one aspect of this that I fully appreciate is that they do not want to be considered nor are they are they a monolith. So each country has its own identity, its own culture, its own history, and that should be respected. Which is why you will see that I rarely if ever, referred to it as the Northern Triangle, because that then treats it as a monolith when it is not. So but there are commonalities to be sure, but of different proportions, on the issue of what they need in terms of economic systems. For example, there are commonalities that are a true for the entire Western Hemisphere in terms of the impact of the climate crisis, and that what that means in terms of our ability for farming for an agricultural economy. There are commonalities in terms of the concern that we have about corruption, certainly commonalities about irregular migration. Including the issue of human smuggling and human trafficking. But there are varying degrees and each and and for that reason, our level of attention to each issue is different and is moderated based on the needs of that particular country.
In retirement, today, we
did not see anything about China, and I'm wondering in either your conversations today or your conversations in December, this is China, Taiwan, that relationship, something that came up and how you addressed it.
Well, we did not discuss China, but certainly, you probably know the the vice president of Taiwan was there he came up and introduced herself to me and the brief conversation that we had was really about a common interest in this part of the region. And apparently Taiwan's interest in our root causes strategy.
Can you reflect on the retirement of justice prior and what role you're going to play in advising the President as he makes this decision?
Well as a my entire life as a practicing attorney, I will tell you a great deal of respect to justice Brocker and his legacy and his commitment and particularly to those words, etched in the United States Supreme Court, outside walls, equal justice under law, he has truly been a champion of equal justice under law. And as it relates to his retirement, I wished him well, of course, and thank him for his legacy. The President and I will work closely together on this and the selection process and the President will make his choice about who will be the next person to fill adjusted prior
to help advise him on that, yes. That's all the time
to factor in talking about corruption. Just talk about a little bit about what you were feeling when she was talking about that passionately. And also, a lot of the American people are concerned that things won't move fast enough how soon do you think this relationship could materialize into some positive input?
Great question. So I was impressed with the passion was when she told me about the talks about her priority on addressing and combating corruption and that fuels my optimism, about our ability to partner on that issue, because again, it is up as a priority issue for us in terms of our root cause and strategy, and any investment in this country going forward. I think that on the issue of what this will mean, in terms of the timeline, the root cause of strategy has always been clear. And we have been clear, the the work we need to do is going to be work that will manifest over a long period of time. Hopefully not too long, but certainly not overnight. The problem that we need to address our problems that did not occur overnight and the solution if we're going to have any impact will not occur overnight. Great. Thank you, everyone. That's all the time yeah.
