Bill Clinton: “President Preval. Good evening, Mr. President. President Clinton. Hello? President Preval. Good evening, Mr. President.…”

“President Preval. Good evening, Mr. President. President Clinton. Hello? President Preval. Good evening, Mr. President. President Clinton. Good evening. I wanted to call you and offer you my congratulations on your inauguration. As you know better than I, this is the first democratically elected transfer of power in Haiti in the history of your nation, and it's a real advance for democracy in our hemisphere and a great opportunity for your country, and I'm proud that the United States has been supporting you. Interpreter. You can go on, Mr. President. He understands English. President Clinton. Well, I just wanted to say those things and also to assure you that we are aware that you still have a lot to do, a big agenda ahead of you, but so much has been accomplished. You've had these peaceful elections. You have restored democratic institutions, including the Presidency and the Parliament. You have dismantled the repressive FAd'H. You have shown some economic growth last year. You have 5,000 people in the national police force, and there has been a dramatic decline in deaths due to political violence. So for all those things, even as we look to the challenges ahead, I know you are proud, and you should be proud. And I'm very glad that Ambassador Albright and Deputy Secretary Talbott and others from the United States delegation were able to be there.…”