We congratulate Salvador Sanchez Ceren on his election as president, and we particularly congratulate the Salvadoran people for their participation in a process that the OAS election observer mission called calm and orderly.

We recognize that there are pending legal matters, and we urge continued respect for the legal processes and institutions of El Salvador.

El Salvador is a country and a people that I first got to know well as a freshman Senator, and it is a relationship that remains just as important to me as Secretary of State. The United States looks forward to working with President Salvador Sanchez Ceren and to continuing joint efforts to promote security and economic development through the Partnership for Growth. Our longstanding partnership and commitment to El Salvador and the Salvadoran people continues.