    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [March 11, 1999]
    [Pages 344-345]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Opening Remarks at the Central America Summit in Antigua, Guatemala
    March 11, 1999

        President Arzu, President Aleman, President Flores,
    President Calderon Sol, President
    Rodriguez, President
    Fernandez, Prime Minister Musa. First, President Arzu, let me thank you, your
    government, and the people of Guatemala and especially the people of
    Antigua for the wonderful welcome and hospitality I have received here.
        When Hillary came back from her
    trip to Central America last November, she told me about the devastation
    she had seen in four nations, but she also said, ``At the end of the
    trip, you have to go to Antigua.''
        You know, this is the first time the President of the United States
    has been anywhere in Guatemala outside of the airport in Guatemala City.
    President Johnson visited there 30 years ago. This visit is long
    overdue. More importantly, this moment in history is long overdue.
        I came to the Presidency in 1993 determined to establish a new
    partnership with the peoples of Latin America and especially to reach
    out to our neighbors in Central America. At long last, Guatemala and all
    its neighbors have a chance to prosper in freedom and peace, in a
    hemisphere united by shared values.
        We have come together in this old capital to find new solutions. The
    damage the hurricanes left, some of which I have seen, of course, has
    increased the urgency of our deliberations and our action. We are
    determined to respond to this calamity so that what was destroyed will
    be built back better than ever. We commit today to build a common future
    here in Antigua, a city that knows a great deal about rebuilding.
        Our challenge is to consolidate the remarkable achievements of
    Central America in the last decade, to build on them, and to accelerate
    them.

    [[Page 345]]

    I am committed to lowering trade barriers between us, both to speed
    recovery and to build a free-trade area in this region that will benefit
    all the citizens of all the countries. I am committed to a common
    struggle against violence and drug trafficking and drug abuse, to shared
    responsibility for the care of our environment, for the education of our
    children, for the health of our people. I am committed to justice and to
    institutions which will maintain it. I am committed to fair immigration
    laws, fairly enforced, and especially to the principle that we should
    treat people from Central America equitably, whatever their country of
    origin, and recognize the special circumstances of those nations that
    Hurricane Mitch hit hardest.
        Our new partnership has made quite a bit of progress since our last
    summit in Costa Rica. We still face daunting challenges. But now we face
    them with a unique sense of solidarity and a common commitment to
    freedom, to democracy, to open markets, and to meeting the demands of
    our people for better schools, safer streets, wider opportunities.
        Even before the United States was created, a North American poet,
    Anne Bradstreet, complained about the harshness of our weather. But she
    added, ``If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.''
    Well, Central America has had a long and difficult season, aggravated by
    the recent hurricanes, but we can truly rejoice that the springtime of
    renewal and rebuilding is here. The Sun shines on us today, in Guatemala
    and throughout this region. For all the problems that people face, we
    must never forget how far they have traveled, and we must never lose
    sight of the path that leads to a brighter tomorrow. We must go on that
    path together, to build a new American century for all the people of the
    Americas.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:36 a.m. in the courtyard at the Casa
    Santo Domingo. In his remarks, he referred to summit participants
    President Alvaro Arzu of Guatemala, President Arnoldo Aleman of
    Nicaragua, President Carlos Roberto Flores of Honduras, President
    Armando Calderon Sol of El Salvador, President Miguel Angel Rodriguez of
    Costa Rica, President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic, and
    Prime Minister Said Musa of Belize.