    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 8, 1997]
    [Pages 581-582]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Central American Summit Dinner in San Jose
    May 8, 1997

        President Reina, President and Mrs. Figueres, to my colleagues and
    friends at this table, and to all of you at this wonderful dinner: The
    day has been long and the hour is late, and most of what needs to be
    said has been said. I would like to begin briefly by simply thanking
    President and Mrs. Figueres and all the people of Costa Rica for their
    wonderful reception, including the magnificent music we heard this
    evening. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
        I think you could tell by the remarks of President Reina and
    President Figueres that there was a wonderful spirit in our meeting
    today, a real desire to meet each other on terms of equality and
    respect, an understanding that we should seize the future together. And
    it left us all feeling larger and better than we came. I believe in
    Costa Rica you say that is pura vida. [Laughter]
        As we rejoice tonight in the new hope and opportunity that is
    sweeping across the Americas, it would be wrong of us not to also
    remember and applaud the brave struggles of countless Central Americans
    in forging the peace we now celebrate. Because of the price they paid,
    today we find former guerrillas and ex-officers sitting side by side in
    legislatures. Central America's jaguars are second only to Asia's tigers
    in their rates of growth. Our nations are working together no longer to
    strip and exploit the land but instead to use our resources wisely, with
    future generations in mind.
        Tonight I would like to especially salute President Arzu for all he
    has done to end four decades of conflict in Guatemala.
        We are among the 34 democracies that committed in Miami 3 years ago
    to build a free trade area of the Americas by the year 2005. Today we
    issued the San Jose Declaration in that same spirit. Both are based on a
    fundamental conviction that we cannot build the future we seek unless we
    build it together.
        I also want all of you to know that we resolve to actually work
    together to make these words real. We have had specific discussions
    about what we do next to expand trade, what we do next to improve
    education, what we do next to advance the environmental agenda. And just
    before I left the hotel to come here tonight, when Hillary and I were
    talking about the

    [[Page 582]]

    evening and the day, I received a call from General McCaffrey, who heads
    our efforts against illegal narcotics. He was full of excitement because
    he had been meeting with all of his counterparts from the countries here
    represented. He said, ``Mr. President, this is the best meeting I ever
    had. These people really care about their children getting involved with
    drugs. They really want to defeat this. They're going to help us. We're
    going to work together. I feel better about this than I did the first
    day I took office.'' That is the spirit we intend to bring to every one
    of our endeavors.
        Perhaps most important, we leave here with deeper ties as friends
    and partners. President Franklin Roosevelt said this 60 years ago in a
    speech to the Pan American Union; it's still true today: ``Your
    Americanism and mine must be a structure built of confidence, cemented
    by a sympathy which recognizes only equality and fraternity.'' My fellow
    citizens of the Americas, we stand on the edge of a bright new century.
    Let us bring that spirit to its work, and let us live with a dream that
    is worthy of our children.
        I ask you now to join me in a toast of salute and gratitude to
    President and Mrs. Figueres for bringing us together here in Costa Rica.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:15 p.m. in the Hotel Herradura. In his
    remarks, he referred to President Carlos Roberto Reina of Honduras;
    President Jose Maria Figueres of Costa Rica and his wife, Josette
    Altmann de Figueres; and President Alvaro Arzu of Guatemala. A tape was
    not available for verification of the content of these remarks.