[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 2 (Monday, January 18, 1999)]
[Pages 36-37]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony for President Carlos Menem of 
Argentina

January 11, 1999

    President Menem, members of the Argentine delegation, distinguished 
guests. It's a very special pleasure for me to welcome President Menem 
to the White House for this first state visit of the new year. The 
United States is proud of its strong relationship with Argentina, and I 
am grateful for the personal and national partnership that President 
Menem and I have developed together.
    Mr. President, over the last decade, the Americas have turned a page 
in our history. Our future has never been brighter. Last year Argentina 
and the United States helped to resolve a border dispute between Peru 
and Ecuador that had persisted for decades. This year we are a 
hemisphere at peace, essentially without international conflict, moving 
beyond historic animosities to discover new opportunities.
    In every nation but one, democracy has replaced dictatorships, open 
markets have replaced command economies, a marketplace of ideas has 
replaced the battle zone of ideologies. From Point Barrow to Patagonia, 
the peoples of the Americas are greeting a new American century with a 
conviction that this will be our best time yet.
    Mr. President, under your leadership, Argentina has been at the 
forefront of Latin America's resurgence. You have built trust with 
neighbors and strengthened relationships with nations around the world. 
By courageously examining their past, the Argentine people have set an 
example for other nations seeking to bolster human rights. Argentina's 
wise economic policies are helping the region to recover from economic 
challenges and to restore confidence in open markets.
    We are also particularly grateful for Argentina's leadership beyond 
the Americas. Day-in and day-out, your peacekeepers promote stability in 
Haiti, Cyprus, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf, and other trouble spots, often 
working side-by-side with our troops. President Menem has consistently 
worked to encourage constructive dialog between nations and to oppose 
those who would intimidate their neighbors through military aggression.
    Finally, he has shown real vision and courage before one of the 
great challenges of the new century, securing his people's prosperity 
while protecting the environment for future generations.
    In 1999 our two nations will continue to work together closely, 
building a vibrant, open international economy while preserving natural 
resources, forging international peace and stability, honoring 
individual rights along with the larger community to which we all 
belong.
    Mr. President, our two nations have come far together over this past 
decade. But thanks in no small measure to your leadership, there

[[Page 37]]

is no limit to our progress in the century ahead.
    Bienvenidos. Welcome to America.

Note: The President spoke at 9:45 a.m. in the Grand Foyer at the White 
House, where President Menem was accorded a formal welcome with full 
military honors. The transcript made available by the Office of the 
Press Secretary also included the remarks of President Menem.