[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 26 (Monday, July 5, 1993)]
[Pages 1196-1197]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With President Carlos Saul 
Menem of Argentina

 June 29, 1993

President's Approval Rating

    Q. How do you like your new popularity as a result of the attack on 
Baghdad?
    The President. I think there's a lot of evidence that people are 
learning more about the specifics of the economic program again, too. I 
think that's a lot of it.
    Q. Do you really think that's it?
    The President. Absolutely, I do.

Iraq

    Q. There were new threats from Iraqi officials this morning, threat 
of retaliation. Are you concerned about that, Mr. President?
    The President. Well, we'll deal with those as they arise.

Haiti

    Q. Are you going to discuss the Haitian situation with Mr. Menem?
    The President. Absolutely, I will. I want to get his ideas. 
President Menem has been a real force for democracy and for human rights 
in our hemisphere. Argentina was extremely helpful in playing a 
leadership role in the recent Guatemalan crisis. And I want to know what 
he thinks about Haiti and what we might do.
    Q. Are you going to sell him Skyhawks, 36 Skyhawks?

Economic Indicators

    Q. ----sir, last month after you took great pains to attach the jump 
to your economic program.
    The President. They won't be up every month. But the economy in our 
country will have great difficulty in totally recovering in any short 
period of time from the traumas of the last 10 to 12 to 15 years. But I 
think that it's clear that if we can bring our deficit down, keep our 
interest rates down, we can get growth up. It's also true that we have 
to try to work with our trading partners to get growth up. And I might 
just mention Argentina. Our exports to Argentina have tripled in the 
last 4 years. That's the sort of thing we're trying to work on with 
other countries around the world. And it's not going to be easier quick. 
We're basically restructuring the American economy at a time when the 
whole world is in a rebuilding process. But I'm hopeful.

[At this point, one group of reporters left the room and another group 
entered.]

Argentina

    Q. Mr. Clinton, can you tell us what you want to achieve with this 
visit?
    The President. Well, first of all, I want to just get to know 
President Menem a little better. He is the first Latin American leader I 
have received here at the White House. I admire very much the program of 
economic reform that Argentina has pursued under his leadership, their 
respect for human rights, their support for democracy. I was especially 
grateful for the position taken in the recent issue with Guatemala. And 
there are lots of things we have to talk about.

[[Page 1197]]

    Q. Mr. President, do you agree that Argentina is leading Latin 
America?
    The President. Do I believe Argentina's a leader in Latin America? 
Absolutely. I hope that we can explore stronger and broader trade 
relations. I hope that we can continue to work together on the problems 
in the hemisphere. I'm going to ask President Menem for his views on the 
situation in Haiti, for example, where I very much want to see democracy 
restored. And I wanted him to come here and to be the first Latin 
American leader to come because of the remarkable, some would say 
astonishing, progress in Argentina in the last couple of years.

Note: The President spoke at 11:35 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this 
exchange.