President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a reception for the foreign diplomatic corps: GET ARCHITECTS, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a reception for the foreign diplomatic corps

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a reception for the foreign diplomatic corps THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Good afternoon, and welcome on behalf of Michelle and myself. We are thrilled to have you at the White House. It's good to see all of you, including the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, from Djibouti, Ambassador Olhaye. It's wonderful to see you again. Like our reception last year, this is an opportunity to thank you for your partnership, for the cooperation between our nations, and for the hospitality that your countries show our diplomats each and every day. As ambassadors, I know you all have a very difficult job. You have to understand the complexities of other cultures and countries -— unlike diplomats of a century ago who -- for example, there was a diplomat who, when planning an international ceremony, invited Switzerland to send its navy. (Laughter.) You have to adapt to quickly changing events around the world -— unlike President Jefferson, who said of an American ambassador to Europe, "We haven't heard from him in two years. If we don't hear from him next year, I'll have to write him a letter." (Laughter.) Today, our nations and peoples are more interconnected than at any time in human history. We've got extraordinary opportunities to advance our national interests and our common interests, which can reinforce each another. We can advance the aspirations of our people, who, despite any differences, basically seek the same things —- to ...

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