ASSISTANT SECRETARY SATTERFIELD: Good evening. Welcome to the U.S. Department of State's Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room for this historic occasion to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and to forge a closer partnership with the Hispanic community in collaboration with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, also known as HACU. Welcome to the members of the diplomatic corps, HACU and its members, civil society leaders, students and exchange participants, and colleagues.
I'd like to thank Dr. General - Director General Marcia Bernicat and Senior Bureau Official for Public Diplomacy Liz Allen for their partnership. (Applause.) I also want to thank Deputy Assistant Secretary Ethan Rosenzweig and all of the academic team at ECA for getting us to this point. (Cheers and applause.) I want to take a moment to recognize the department's Hispanic Employee Council, a foreign affairs agency which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. (Applause.)
I'm pleased to be joined onstage with Dr. Antonio Flores, president of HACU (applause); two of our outstanding department employees, Josue Barrera and Susana Guzman (applause); and of course, our Secretary of State Antony Blinken (applause). I am Lee Satterfield, the assistant secretary of state for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Tonight's ceremony signifies much more than a signing ceremony. Tonight we celebrate the priority that Secretary Blinken places on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
The State Department is elevating the Biden administration's engagement with the Hispanic community by signing this important MOU with HACU, the first time it's been signed by a secretary of state in two decades. (Applause.)
Yesterday, Secretary Blinken said that President Biden's National Security Strategy lays out a vision for a free, open, secure, and prosperous world, and a comprehensive plan to realize it. This MOU is an important step in that plan. The Biden administration want more members of the Hispanic community to be a part of America's diplomatic and development work. We want more opportunities for Hispanic students and scholars to study and research abroad. And we want more international students and scholars studying and researching at our Hispanic-serving institutions, because inclusion of every community strengthens our global competitiveness, security, and shared prosperity.
