International Coffee Agreement

Accession to the 2001 International Coffee Agreement

Secretary Condoleezza Rice Ankara, Turkey February 5, 2005

I am pleased to announce that the United States has acceded to the 2001 International Coffee Agreement, and has become a member of the International Coffee Organization effective February 3, 2005. We announced our intention to rejoin in September 2004 and completed the process when we deposited our instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the United Nations.

The International Coffee Organization has undertaken impressive reforms in recent years to strengthen its market orientation, build programs to help coffee farmers improve quality, efficiency and access to markets, and streamline the global coffee trade. It is a valuable forum in which to address the full range of issues affecting coffee production, trade and consumption. We look forward to working closely with our trading partners in the Organization to enhance development efforts and open markets.

2005/124 Released on February 5, 2005

Secretary Rice Europe and the Middle East

Rice, Straw

Between February 3rd and February 10th, Secretary Rice is visiting eight European countries, as well as Israel and the West Bank. The trip comes in advance of the President's visit to Europe between February 22nd and 25, so she'll take this opportunity to advance the President's agenda and the United States agenda in cooperation with our European friends and allies.

She will visit the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Israel, Italy, France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

During the course of her visit, she intends to promote President Bush's vision of democracy and freedom as the keys to peace and prosperity. She will work to identify a common agenda for 2005 with our European partners and our partners in the Middle East -- an agenda of fighting terrorism, proliferation, disease and poverty, as we support democracy in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. She will coordinate with European partners and institutions to support reform in the broader Middle East and North Africa. She looks forward to working with European allies to advance the Middle East peace process, and she expects to support development of European institutions while in Europe. [photos]