Oct. 16 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1997

Remarks at the State Dinner Hosted by President Carlos Menem of Argentina in Buenos Aires October 16, 1997

Mr. President, Zulema, to the members of prosperity and to educating its people for the Congress and the Supreme Court, Mr. Mayor demands of the new economy. and governors, former President Alfonsin, mem- I speak for all Americans when I say how bers of the diplomatic corps, distinguished very pleased I am that in the last decade our guests. Mr. President, thank you for your fine nations have built a strong, new relationship, statement, your warm welcome, and the extraor- driven by shared values, based on partnership dinary hospitality that Hillary and I and our and respect. Argentina and America have joined entire delegation of Cabinet, administration, and together in common cause. We pledge to create congressional members have received from the a free-trade area of the Americas by 2005; to people of Buenos Aires and Argentina. bring new prosperity to all people of our hemi- Mr. President, as you know, like you, I come sphere; to turn the revolution in information from a small rural State, where some people technology to our children’s advantage by open- still value their horse more than their auto- ing a world of knowledge to all—all—our chil- mobile. [Laughter] And with this remarkable dren. One hundred fifty years ago, education feast, you have reminded us with barbecue that was Sarmiento’s great passion. Today, it is cen- we are truly at home. tral to our ability to prove that democracy works Exactly 150 years ago, in the autumn of 1847, for all people and to the future we are trying a young man from Argentina visited the United to build together. States and was profoundly affected by the expe- We are also partners in helping those around rience. He thought that we Americans ate our the world who take risks for peace. I thank meals too quickly—[laughter]—that our young the people of Argentina for sending peace- people had strange courtship habits, and that keepers into troubled places all over the Earth the White House was not big enough for the and setting an example for all nations. The ro- President. [Laughter] Still, he was impressed by bust bonds of friendship between Argentina and a nation in which individuals were valued for the United States are rooted in our shared com- their capacity and their work, where education mitment to peace and freedom, to prosperity was prized as the great equalizing force of de- and security, to the integrity of the individual, mocracy, where a multitude of people of dif- the family, and the community. They are at the ferent backgrounds and languages came to- heart of all we dream for our future. gether, in his words, ‘‘as if they were one family, President Menem, I salute you for the ex- joining one another, mixing with each other, traordinary leadership you have shown in help- parts of old societies forming the new, most ing our nations turn this corner in history. No daring republic in the world.’’ Mr. President, one in our hemisphere has done more to seize that young man was Domingo Faustino the opportunities of this new era. Generations Sarmiento. to come will remember this as a moment when Today, 150 years later, America looks across our two nations served the deepest interests of the great expanse of our hemisphere at Argen- our people. And tonight the United States is tina and we are inspired by Argentina today proud to work alongside Argentina, an Argentina as Sarmiento was by America then. We see a that is fulfilling Domingo Sarmiento’s greatest nation shaped, like us, by waves of immigrants hopes. from the Old World and the experience of fron- Ladies and gentlemen, let us raise a glass tier life in the New World. Here, where so to the new partnership between our people for many languages are spoken, from Basque to peace and prosperity, here and throughout the Ukrainian, from Arabic to Welsh, we see a na- world. tion drawing strength from its remarkable diver- sity. Today, we see an Argentina grounded in democracy, committed to economic reforms that NOTE: The President spoke at approximately 9:40 have put it on the road to more widespread p.m. in the ballroom at the Rural Center. In his

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remarks, he referred to President Menem’s nando de la Rua of Buenos Aires; and former daughter, Zulema Maria Menem; Mayor Fer- President Raul Alfonsin of Argentina.

Remarks to Business Leaders in Buenos Aires October 17, 1997

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. And of course, we see in Argentina a mirror Thank you, President Fedrigotti, President of what is happening around the region today Menem, distinguished members of the Argen- as barriers fall and trade expands and people tine Government, to the members of Congress everywhere gain greater opportunities for new and Cabinet in our administration who are here. jobs, new skills, and higher incomes. We see Let me say on behalf of all of them, we are it also as a harbinger of what we might build delighted to be here. We have had a wonderful in the future in all of this region for all of stay in Buenos Aires. And we thank this distin- the people. guished group of Argentine and American busi- Since 1993, when I took office and established ness leaders for giving all of us the opportunity a new economic policy that focused on reducing to join you this morning. our deficit, investing in our future, and expand- When President Bush came here in 1990, it ing trade, expanding trade has accounted for was a very different time for Argentina. Inflation one-third of America’s strong economic growth. was soaring, output was plunging, trade was ane- Now I am working to persuade Congress to mic. Today, the country has experienced a truly renew the fast-track authority traditionally given remarkable turnaround. It is a great credit to to Presidents so that we can do even more to the people of Argentina, to wise decisionmakers, speed the falling of barriers and the opening and to the direction that President Menem has of doors. set. You have cut inflation to almost zero. The Latin America’s emerging markets are ex- expanded trade attracted a flood of foreign in- pected to grow more than twice as fast as the vestment, spurred impressive growth. You are economies of the advanced industrial nations. on the move—good for Argentina, and good for Now, it is clearly in the United States interest America, for since 1990, our exports to Argen- to be at the forefront of that for the next gen- tina have more than tripled. In the same period, eration. But I want to emphasize to all of you American investment has soared from $2 billion that this is, for us, about more than economics. to approximately $12 billion, and it’s still grow- We also want to be genuine partners in seizing ing. all the opportunities and meeting all the chal- Trade has contributed a quarter of Argentina’s lenges of this new age. It’s about far more than growth over the past 3 years. And of course, just trade figures. It’s also about political part- behind these individual statistics lie many, many nerships, the preservation of democracy, the success stories that are paying off for people strengthening of the social contract to include in human as well as economic terms. all people who aspire to better lives, the ability To take just one example, General Electric to fight drugs and crime and terrorism, the abil- Power Systems has sold state-of-the-art gas tur- ity to build a future that is consistent with the bines and generators that will account for more dreams of those who founded all our nations. than 30 percent of Argentina’s new power gen- Argentina is at the heart of movements bring- eration capacity. That supports jobs for Argen- ing our hemisphere together, working with your tinean and American workers alike and will pro- neighbors through MERCOSUR and your stra- vide Argentina with higher quality, lower cost, tegic alliance with Brazil to spur democracy, more environmentally friendly power to keep economic reform, and regional security coopera- engines humming, classrooms lit, and the econ- tion. MERCOSUR not only expands trade and omy growing. It is clearly the kind of win-win prosperity, it has also reinforced democracy and situation we see repeated over and over again. promoted peace, as greater independence and

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