[16/March/2010]

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Saba) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday said his administration will continue to work toward "an unmatched level of transparency, participation and accountability" in the US government, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Obama made his comments in a statement marking "Sunshine Week," an initiative spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors to educate the public about the importance of open government.

"As Sunshine Week begins, I want to applaud everyone who has worked to increase transparency in government, and recommit my administration to be the most open and transparent ever, an effort that will strengthen our democracy and ensure the public's trust in their government," the President said.

His administration came to Washington to change the way business was done, "and part of that was making ourselves accountable to the American people by opening up our government," he said.

"We have put our White House visitor records on the Internet for the first time in history; opened up more government information than ever before on Data.gov, Recovery.gov and USAspending.gov; and issued an executive order fighting unnecessary secrecy, to name a few," he added.

Saba