Obama Addresses Brexit Vote At Stanford Tech Summit
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- President Obama spoke about the Brexit vote for the first time Friday morning as he attended a tech summit on the Stanford campus.
The president arrived at 11 a.m. Friday morning for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium. After giving a few remarks, he proceeded to moderate a panel with several tech CEOs including Mark Zuckerberg.
But first, he addressed the British vote to exit the European Union that had dominated the news since the results became official Thursday evening.
The president said he had spoken with Prime Minister David Cameron -- who announced he would resign in October -- and was confident the exit from the EU will be orderly.
He also said NATO will stay united.
"But while the UK's relationship with the EU will change, one thing that will not change is the special relationship that exists between our two nations. That will endure," said President Obama. "The EU will remain one of our indispensable partners."
President Obama then shifted his attention to the summit, saying it is an event close to his heart. This was the last summit he will attend as a sitting president.
He said the Global Entrepreneurship summits have been able to help 17,000 entrepreneurs around the world in the past 7 years.
Mr. Obama announced several new partnerships with big name mentors as well as a $100 million fund to invest in startups around the world.
He also talked about lofty goals like innovation, dreaming big and entrepreneurship.
"I believe in you. And America believes in you," said the President. "And we believe you have the talent and skills and ambition not just to pursue your dreams but to realize them. That you can lift up not just your own rankles but communities and countries and create prosperity and opportunities for decades to come. That's the promise we see in all of you."
As for the summit itself, it is held in a different part of the world every year. This year, it drew more than a thousand entrepreneurs from 140 countries to the epicenter of innovation, Silicon Valley.
Mr. Obama also called for more diversity since only a tiny fraction of venture backed startups are run by women or minorities.
Attendees said hearing President Obama encourage them to collaborate with the U.S. was inspiring.
Khongorzul Bat-Ireedui from Mongolia is working to connect young adults with mentors and said the President seemed very sincere and welcoming.
"Oh, very much! Yes yes! I feel like his friend, said Bat-Ireedui. "We feel very welcome. We love this country. Thank you very much for having us."
Mustafa Alghali from Sudan is working on an education startup. He said hearing the Presidents remarks gave him confidence.
"People here are very welcoming," said Alghali. "Just found a lot of people, I'm interested in their ideas and my ideas, so I think [the] USA is a good place to start a business or corporation or partnerships."
The President was scheduled to participate in a Google Portal virtual conversation alongside entrepreneurs at the university and leave at 1:35 p.m. from Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View.
When he departs, he will head to Seattle for several fundraising stops.
