WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the United States will invest in countries that incubate terrorism as the cost of not doing so will be far greater.

In a policy address on Wednesday she also said that the Obama administration intended to put development and foreign aid on the same level as diplomacy and military power in US foreign policy.

“We must also be honest that, in some situations, we will invest in places that are strategically critical but where we are not guaranteed success,” she said.

“In countries that are incubators of extremism, like Yemen, or ravaged by poverty and natural disasters, like Haiti, the odds are long. But the cost of doing nothing is potentially far greater.”

While outlining the administration’s policy on development aid, she said the US would have to tailor its assistance according to the needs of the targeted country.

“We must accept that our development model cannot be formulaic – that what works in Pakistan may not work in Peru. So our approach must be case by case, country by country, region by region, and cross countries and regions, to face the trans-national threats and problems that we are encountering,” she said.

“We need to analyse needs, assess opportunities, and tailor our investments and our partnerships in ways that maximise the impact of our efforts and resources.”

Mrs Clinton also said that empowering women around the world was not just a personal priority for her but a strategic interest of the United States.

It was time to “elevate development as a central pillar of all that we do in our foreign policy,” she said, adding that America’s security depended on a new approach to international aid, “so Washington must consult more and dictate less” as it dispenses billions of dollars in assistance.

Stressing that international assistance would be central to Washington’s new approach to foreign policy; she listed agriculture and health among other “key areas” on which the US would focus its efforts.