Remarks by Vice President Harris in Courtesy Call with Chief Osabarima Kwesi Atta II

Emintsimadze Palace
Cape Coast, Ghana

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you all for the warm welcome.  Your Royal Highness.  Madam Minister.

Well, the first thing I will say is I will now officially appoint a liaison.  The Ambassador to Ghana, who is here with us — I have now appointed you, Madam Ambassador, to be an official liaison to His Highness and to this extraordinary group of global leaders, and then let us figure out the next steps.
    
But I do appreciate the points that you have made.  And there is an unmistakable tie and bond.  And all relationships that are good relationships are founded on trust and consistency and reciprocity.  And so, I appreciate the points you have made, and we will follow up with your request.
    
How could I dy- — deny a request from my host?  (Laughs.)  I have been raised properly, you know.  (Laughs.)
    
But it is my honor, and with my husband and our delegation, to be here.  And I appreciate the accommodations and the effort that you have made to welcome us so warmly.

I, too, believe that we must remember history for many reasons, especially in the face of, at times, those who would attempt to deny it.  And we must teach it, but teach it also with an understanding that it should teach us not only about our past, but about our destiny and our future, that we must learn from it in a way that we make the ancestors proud and understand the broad shoulders upon which we stand.  (Applause.)
    
So, I thank you for the spirit with which you have welcomed me and my husband and our delegation.  I request your — your ability for me to see the lands that you oversee and to visit the — the place that you have not mentioned but the place I will go next. 
    
And — and I must say that there is so much that you, Minister, and Your Highness have mentioned about Ghana and, by extension, the continent that gives me an incredible sense of optimism. 
    
And the work that you have done here, in terms of prioritizing and having such success with education, is something that in my own country of the United States and around the globe we know must be a greater priority for all of us.  And that includes using that education as a way to help people around the globe understand the connections and the interconnections and the interdependence, by extension.
    
So, I am honored to be here and to be with you.  And I look forward, as you greeted me, to saying this will not be the last time we meet or speak.  And I, again, thank you for the warm welcome.  And to everyone, thank you for the welcome.  (Applause.)
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