Thank you, Frank. And thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your strong support of American business at home and abroad and for your work with business executives on the kind of best practices exemplified by our two Award winning companies.
Along with a distinguished team from the State Department, the Department of Commerce and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, I had an opportunity to review all 48 nominations. The competition for this year's Award was extremely close. Each of the nominated companies demonstrated examples of good corporate citizenship, innovation, and best business practices overseas. They demonstrated that America's business executives are corporate ambassadors of the American values that Secretary Powell mentioned in his remarks.
American business is carrying the message: democracy, free enterprise, market-based economies. It doesn't matter where these companies are -- in Beijing or Cairo, Abuja or Bratislava -- they are at the forefront of promoting education, health, sustainable economic development, and humanitarian assistance. They also create a positive impact on the community in which they operate by contributing to the commercial, civic, and cultural life of the people. This is corporate citizenship at its best. In other words, American companies are a force for positive change in the global marketplace, working every day to broaden and deepen economic development and international stability.
And now I am pleased to start the dialogue portion of today's program with the winning posts and the in-country business executives whose efforts earned them the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence. We go first to Abuja, Nigeria and to Roger Meece, the Embassy Charge d'Affaires, and the Chevron Nigeria team. Roger.
(Remarks from Charge Meece and ChevronTexaco Executive, Jay Pryor)
Thank you, Roger. Next, I'd like to invite Ambassador Ronald Weiser to say a few words and the U.S. Steel Kosice team in Bratislava.
(Remarks from Ambassador Weiser, USSK Executive, Christopher Novetta, and Prime Minister Dzurinda)
Thank you, Ron, and thank you, Prime Minister Dzurinda, for your participation in today's program.
Concluding RemarksAnd now I have the honor of standing in for my boss, Alan Larson, the Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs. Al chairs the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence Selection Committee, but he has had to depart earlier than expected for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), so I'd like to offer some concluding thoughts and comments on his behalf.
As we put the spotlight on our winners and celebrate the fifth anniversary of our ACE Awards, it's important to note that the government's efforts to heighten awareness of good governance, competitive practices, and accountability are very similar to the private sector's day-to-day commitment to best practices and corporate responsibility. As the Secretary has noted countless times, the partnership we have forged between American business and American diplomacy has never been more important.
You see this partnership in action as we develop cooperative initiatives with business to advance outreach efforts overseas and work to ensure that the U.S. business community's views are reflected in American foreign policy. You see this partnership at work in the positive response of the business community to innovative Administration programs to persuade nations to seize the initiative for their own development -- our Partnership for Prosperity with Mexico; the President's Millennium Challenge Account; the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act; and the pillars of the Middle East Partnership Initiative.
Government has limited resources to commit to many of these programs -- five billion dollars per year in new assistance under the Millennium Challenge Account by FY ‘06 sounds like a lot of money -- and it is, given the competition for government resources. But it pales when you look closely at trade and investment flows that are generated by the private sector.
After all, the combined value of development resources from domestic savings is now almost $2 trillion a year, FDI [foreign direct investment] is now $180-$200 billion a year, and U.S. imports of goods from developing countries alone is $450 billion a year. This dwarfs the $50 billion from official development assistance channels that all donors provide each year.
Simply put, the biggest tools in our economic toolbox -- and hence the group most responsible for ensuring our economic security -- are American companies. The private sector's ability to manage, to move quickly, to bring to bear immense resources, and to be imaginative and innovative, far outpaces government's ability to make things happen. The U.S. business community has a strong commitment to investing in the people who work for them and in helping them move up the free enterprise ladder.
The companies we recognize today -- and all the companies that were nominated for the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence -- have done a tremendous amount of good for their communities this year. Whether it's creating jobs and wealth or investing in the education and welfare of their employees, we want this known to the people in their host communities and to Americans here at home.
They truly are America's corporate ambassadors, purveyors of good will for the United States and conveyors of American values. It is my great pleasure to join Secretary Powell in recognizing the good works they have done. As we constantly say, you can do well by doing good -- and the best way to sell American goods and services is by being an integral part of the community and by leading by example.
The steadfastness of American companies on the front lines of business engagement and public diplomacy -- and the values they carry with them -- are, what we at the State Department believe, the keys to a better, safer, and more prosperous world. Thanks to everyone for coming to this ceremony today here in Washington and joining with our friends, colleagues, and guests in Nigeria and the Slovak Republic.
