SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good afternoon, everyone. It’s a great pleasure to have Foreign Minister Hill here at the State Department. We’ve been working together from the very start of my tenure in this job and seen each other on many different occasions throughout our hemisphere, but I’m particularly glad to have Alex here today at the State Department.
El Salvador, the United States, we’re profoundly connected. Our economies are connected, our people are connected, and we in the United States have a real stake in the success of El Salvador. I’m looking forward to a conversation about ways we can find to deepen our cooperation on many issues that bring us together, including managing migration, dealing with counternarcotics, building inclusive economic growth, good governance, and we’re animated, I hope, by the values that join us as well.
So Alex, it’s great to have you here.
FOREIGN MINISTER HILL: Thank you. Thank you, Secretary. It is a deep, deep honor to be here with you. As you said, we’ve been working together since the beginning. We share values, we share hopes, we share the better for our people – we want the best for our people. The United States is crucial for us; 90 percent of our diaspora lives here.
El Salvador since June of 2019 is not the same. We can breathe security. Our president has put and – become co-responsible of illegal migration, and we have been working deeply, 24/7, on issues such as security and job opportunity. And you’re our greatest partners, and I am just delightful to be here, because as we share – our quote – everyone deserves to be at the land where they were born. So we’ve been – we’re going to continue working with the United States on security issues, on illegal, irregular migration, finding legal ways for Salvadorans to get here, and most importantly, as President Bukele said, partnerships – deepen our partnerships and our investment opportunities for both of our peoples.
So thank you so much, Tony. Thank you for having me here.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks. Come on back.
FOREIGN MINISTER HILL: It’s a blessing. Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, everyone.
Official news published at https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinken-and-salvadoran-foreign-minister-alexandra-hill-tinoco-before-their-meeting/
