U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(La Paz, Bolivia)
August 18, 2000

Press Availability with
Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
and Bolivian Foreign Minister Javier Murillo
Government Palace
La Paz, Bolivia

August 18, 2000

FOREIGN MINISTER MURILLO (in Spanish): Good afternoon to the press. We
thank you for your attendance at the culmination of the gracious visit
of the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mrs.
Madeleine Albright, with whom we held a meeting this morning for over
an hour. Our conversation was comprehensive and extensive, allowing us
to discuss quite frankly and openly all the bilateral and multilateral
issues which interest Bolivia and the United States. The meeting with
the President was one of high-level content and of great significance
regarding our relationship with the government of the United States.
Both meetings have demonstrated the high level of understanding that
exists between our countries. At the same time, they have allowed us
to reaffirm our solid and frank willingness to continue working with a
diversified agenda, where we attach greater attention to other issues
like economic diversification, investment, foreign trade, the
environment, democracy, human rights, and all the subjects which will
be a major part of the upcoming Millennium Summit in New York on
September 5. Again, I warmly welcome the Secretary of State of the
United States of America and introduce her to the local and foreign
press. I would like to ask her to say a few words. Mrs. Albright,
welcome.


SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Thank you very much, Mr. Foreign Minister and
distinguished ministers, colleagues and members of the press. Good
afternoon. I've just had a very productive meeting with President
Banzer and Foreign Minister Murillo and other members of the
President's team. I told my hosts how extremely pleased I was to
return to Bolivia where I had a very enjoyable visit in Cochabamba
when I was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.


Bolivia and the United States have enjoyed a long and productive
relationship based on shared values, including support for democracy,
human rights and a free market economy. The United States is Bolivia's
largest trading partner, and I hope to see our economic ties increase.


One purpose of my visit here today is to express admiration for
President Banzer's impressive efforts, and with the support of
Bolivia's Congress and the people of Bolivia, to address the
challenges facing this country and to improve the quality of life for
all Bolivians.


In our meetings, we discussed the commitment that both our countries
share to alleviate poverty. The United States is involved in many
projects which are important to the Bolivian people. Through our Peace
Corps volunteers, we assist basic nutrition programs, micro-enterprise
initiatives, rural sanitation efforts, and we contribute to health
care services for children and pregnant women. Through the U.S. Agency
for International Development, we assist farmers in developing
profitable alternatives to coca production and through additional
funding, recently requested by President Clinton and authorized by
Congress, we will contribute an additional $110 million towards these
and other counternarcotics efforts. This money is well spent because
of Bolivia's already impressive accomplishment in this area.


With strong leadership, President Banzer has made enormous progress
towards the goal of eliminating illegal coca cultivation by the year
2002, and we obviously spent a lot of time discussing that this
morning, and I congratulated him. When that landmark is reached,
Bolivians will have a great cause to celebrate. Cocaine inflicts
terrible harm upon our societies, especially among children and
youths, not only in Bolivia and the United States, but around the
globe.


These are just a few examples of the extent and scope of U.S. interest
in Bolivia, and I hope that our close cooperation will continue to
flourish. I also hope that all sectors of Bolivian society will unite
to help the government address successfully the urgent needs of the
Bolivian people.


Thank you very much, and I think we are now prepared to answer some
questions.


Q (in Spanish): The government of the United States has recognized the
success achieved by the Bolivian government in its fight against
drugs, in particular with regard to the eradication of coca
cultivation. In view of these results, what, in the future, will be
the framework of the United States-Bolivia relationship? I mean, will
counternarcotics continue to be the major issue for American
cooperation? What other assistance is your government considering,
given the fact that the alternative development program has not
achieved the hoped-for results?


SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, first of all, as I stated, I think that the
coca eradication is a huge success and needs to be continued in the
way that President Banzer has planned it. We also, during our
discussion, talked about additional economic relationships and talked
about the importance of investment in Bolivia and creating a good
investment climate. We will work very carefully in order to try to
increase our economic relationships. I think that what is very
important here is to do everything possible to help the Bolivian
people, who are the ones, with the President, that are so responsible
for what is happening here, and we did discuss additional investment
possibilities and trade expansion.


Q (in Spanish): Good morning. The success achieved in coca eradication
has had great social and economic costs in our country. Nearly $500
million dollars has been lost to our economy, and over 35,000 people
are unemployed. Bolivia has launched its textile strategy to enter the
American market. What will your government do to make this Bolivian
request viable?


SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: We did discuss the issue of textiles. I have to
tell you, though, that this is a very complicated problem as far as
our trade relations with any country is concerned. We are coming back
to the United States towards the end of August, and our congressional
session this year, because it is an election year, is short --
starting after Labor Day, which is in early September, and going only
until the first week of October. We have considerable work to do in
trade relations generally, and I will continue to work as I can on
trade relations with Bolivia, including the textile issue. But I must
tell you that this is a complex problem. Let me, however, remind your
reading and listening audience that through HIPC, which is for the
heavily-indebted countries, already $450 million dollars have been
forgiven in terms of Bolivia's debt from the period 1991-99, and it is
now on the table. There can be $1 billion dollars of debt forgiven,
and the United States will be contributing a substantial portion to
that. Plus, as I said, Bolivia has received $110 million in
supplemental funds for assistance. This is a very large contribution
-- one of our largest -- and then Bolivia receives $115 million
annually in our regular budget. So, while this does not alleviate all
the problems in Bolivia, I feel that the United States is making a
very large contribution here to recognize the importance, not only of
Bolivia as a country, but of what Bolivia has been doing to help deal
with the most complex problem of our time, in terms of our societies,
which is narcotrafficking.


Q: Can I ask you both this question? There is a perception among some
people in Bolivia that the coca reduction program has actually harmed
the economy of the country because there was simply less money coming
in. Can I ask you both to address that and to address how you feel the
coca reduction program will actually impact on the future, well-being
and economic status of Bolivia?


FOREIGN MINISTER MURILLO (in Spanish): It is true the successful fight
against drugs has had both direct and indirect effects upon the
Bolivian economy, and they have led to an increase in social demands,
especially in the area of employment and income. Therefore, we believe
one key aspect in our strategy -- as our public opinion well knows --
is the development not just of agricultural alternatives but of an
alternative economy which will replace former coca-related jobs and
income and sustain the results Bolivia has obtained through great
sacrifice.


We should point out that success in this struggle has kept
approximately 230 tons of cocaine from the drug-consuming regions.
This has been a contribution that Bolivia has made on its own in this
area of international interest, one which affects all humankind. For
this reason, we have insisted that the principle of shared
responsibility become a commitment of shared responsibility. That is
what underscores Bolivia's position on this matter.


SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Let me just say that I think that as we look at
21st-century foreign policy issues, dealing with drug trafficking and
obviously economies that have been based on producing drugs, this is
our greatest challenge. And when I argue before Congress for
assistance for countries that need to have an alternative economy, I
do it from a U.S. national interest perspective. I think people need
to understand that when we call for a larger budget, for the State
Department and foreign assistance programs, it is to deal with our
national interest, and our national interest is to help countries that
undertake what Bolivia has done to get rid of coca and have
alternative production and [an] alternative economy. That is in our
national interest, and our people need to understand that.


Q (in Spanish): Good afternoon. Thank you and welcome to Bolivia, Mrs.
Albright. What is your opinion regarding the reaction of some Latin
American countries towards Plan Columbia and the position of the
United States in the Colombian conflict?


SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I believe that Plan Colombia is a comprehensive
and excellent plan designed by President Pastrana, and it has our
support. As I have traveled around Latin America, I have taken away
from this that the countries in Latin America support it -- that they
understand that this is a comprehensive plan that not only deals with
the problem of drugs, but also deals with social and economic problems
in Colombia, the peace process, and a way to try to deal with human
rights. And I think that what we are learning throughout the world --
but I'm concentrating on Latin America this week -- is that we are in
this together and that when one country is able to eradicate coca, we
have to make sure that it doesn't spread somewhere else, and that this
is a regional issue, and that it should have, and does have, I
believe, the support of the neighboring countries and the countries in
the region. Nobody wants to see the whole issue militarized. People do
not want to have this become a larger military conflict. People want
this to deal with the problem that we are dealing with --
narcotrafficking -- and then do what is possible to help the societies
be able to have an alternative form of supporting the people.


Q: This is a question for the Foreign Minister. Given the success of
the eradication program, do you feel that your country should have
gotten a greater proportion of the U.S. funding in Plan Colombia?


FOREIGN MINISTER MURILLO (in Spanish): Well, as the Secretary of State
just said, U.S. cooperation and its support in Bolivia's fight against
drugs has tripled, compared to the last few years. I think that this
is major progress and a very clear signal of the support Bolivia has
enjoyed in this effort. It is possible it is not enough, but in any
case, it is an indication of the very favorable trend for support in
the fight against drugs.


(end transcript)