President Frei, distinguished heads of state, leaders of the Chilean Congress, Supreme Court, members of the diplomatic corps, President Wolfensohn, President Iglesias, Secretary General Gaviria, Secretary General Ruggiero, Director General Alleyne: Four years ago in Miami, we, the democratic nations of this hemisphere, met in the historic Summit of the Americas and pledged ourselves to a common future rooted in shared values, shared burdens, shared progress, and embodied in our call for a free trade area of the Americas by 2005.

Yes, well, I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning about the subject, and to talk with him about the necessity of moving this process forward and trying to make sure that we're able to proceed on a fairly rapid schedule here. We had hoped—as you know, Barry—to bring the people here. These were the meetings that we had worked out both when I was in the region, and then up in the United Nations.

• U.S. policy toward Cuba is to promote a peaceful transition to democracy.

• U.S. policy consists of four key elements: maintaining economic pressure through the embargo and Libertad Act; developing a concerted multilateral effort to promote democracy and human rights; supporting the Cuban people in developing civil society and by providing humanitarian assistance; and keeping migration in safe, legal, orderly channels.

At their Summit meeting in Madrid in July 1997, our Heads of State and Government took important decisions to shape the new NATO to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In December we advanced the implementation of those decisions. Today, at our meeting in Luxembourg, we noted with satisfaction further progress achieved and gave guidance for further work in preparation for the next Summit meeting in Washington in April 1999.

Acting on a recommendation from Secretary of State Albright, President Clinton today sent to the Congress his annual list of those major illicit drug-producing and drug-transit countries that have been certified as either cooperating fully with the United States or taking adequate steps on their own in the fight against drugs. We can only successfully meet the transnational threat of drugs in cooperation and partnership with other nations, President Clinton said. Building on our efforts at home in reducing the demand for drugs, I want to work with our increasingly committed partners in the hemisphere and around the world to stem the supply.

We welcome the progress that has recently been made on peace implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and support the High Representative's active role in promoting the peace process. This is a critical year for consolidating peace in Bosnia, especially for refugee returns and democratic development, with nationwide elections scheduled for September. While the people of Bosnia have accomplished a great deal under very difficult circumstances, we look to Bosnia's leaders to work harder to create a stable and prosperous future for all the country's citizens.

I applaud Speaker Gingrich for scheduling a vote in the House of Representatives for next Friday, November 7, on the renewal of traditional trade negotiating authority. I am grateful for his commitment to move forward and work to secure passage of this legislation that is vital to our national interest.

For the past 48 hours, I have been involved in an intensive effort to reach an agreement that would put Israeli-Palestinian negotiations back on track. We have made some progress which we hope will facilitate agreement in the coming days. If the issues are resolved, President Clinton is prepared to invite the parties to Washington on May 11, 1998 to launch accelerated permanent status negotiations.