Press Release: First Annual Clinton Global Initiative Closes with $1.25 Billion in Commitments

President Clinton closes the conference by emphasizing that the work has just begun and that commitments will continue to come in over the next week.

As the Clinton Global Initiative closes its inaugural meeting, participants vowed to act in the coming year on the conference topics: religion, climate change, poverty and governance. The commitments that have come in so far are worth $1.25 billion and account for more than 100,000 hours of service.

The final day of the conference featured His Excellency Kjell Magne Bondevik, Prime Minister of Norway; His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda; Her Majesty Queen Rania of the Royal Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; The Honorable Al Gore; The Honorable Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations; Mr. John Coomber, CEO of Swiss Re; Mr. Jim Donald, President and CEO, Starbucks.

President Clinton closed the three-day event with a workshop summation, action plan and closing address.

“The past three days have given us all the opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds all united towards a common goal,” said President Clinton. “From the beginning, I emphasized that this conference cannot alone solve the problems we have discussed, but today one thing is more clear than ever — all of us want a better world. I am proud of the commitments made during this conference and look forward to hearing about their progress throughout the year. Next year, I hope that we gather with the collective knowledge that together our actions can improve some of the world's greatest problems.”

Today's commitments included: the Center For American Progress' pledge to coordinate with others interested in developing a concrete proposal for terrorism insurance within the next six months, specifically targeted to increase investment in Gaza; Basic Energy committed to build two wind energy power plants totaling 109 megawatts in the Dominican Republic worth over $130 million; Janet and George McKinley pledged $5 million each to the Grameen Foundation USA's microfinance initiatives and Oxfam America to support sustainable livelihood; and Search for Common Ground will partner with Nestle to support two seasons of a reality television series and a drama series aimed to promote reconciliation and tolerance between religious and ethnic groups.

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