ACCESSION NUMBER:00000

FILE ID:96030112.LAR

DATE:03/01/96

TITLE:01-03-96  CHRISTOPHER CITES ACCORDS AS SIGN OF CLOSE U.S.-ARGENTINE TIES



TEXT:

(Secretary's visit to Buenos Aires) strngr  (910)

By Sergio Kiernan

USIA Special Correspondent





BUENOS AIRES -- Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher hailed

U.S.-Argentine agreements to cooperate in space and on the peaceful

use of nuclear energy as the latest signs of the close ties the two

countries have developed since Argentina restored democratic

government.



In statements and responses to questions during Christopher's Feb. 29

visit, both the secretary and Argentine Foreign Minister Guido Di

Tella noted the turnaround in U.S.-Argentine relations and in

Argentina's role in world affairs since military rule ended here in

1983.



"When Argentina chose the path of democracy 12 years ago, it was an

inspiring victory for the values that our nations now share,"

Christopher said after signing the nuclear cooperation agreement at

San Martin Palace. "With Argentina, as with so many other nations in

Latin America, shared values have led to shared interests. Shared

interests have given rise to unprecedented cooperation in this region

and around the world, from restoring democracy in Haiti, to keeping

the peace in Bosnia, our two nations are forging a strong global

partnership with very great benefits for our peoples"



At a separate ceremony honoring Argentine independence hero Gen. Jose

de San Martin, Argentine troops en route to eastern Slavonia and

police officers who will serve in Bosnia, Christopher said Argentina

has set a model for the world -- and for the role of the military in a

democracy -- by sending its troops to participate in international

peacekeeping operations.



The agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy replaces another

one signed in 1969 and suspended by the United States in the late

1970s due to Argentina's failure to follow international safety rules.

The new agreement, with an initial term of 30 years, will allow U.S.

exports of nuclear technology to Argentina and will be complemented by

further, more specific cooperation agreements in the near future.



Since 1989, Argentina has become a major international advocate of

non-proliferation. In coordination with Brazil and Chile, Argentina

put into effect the Treaty of Tlateloco establishing a nuclear

weapon-free zone in Latin America in January 1994. It joined the

Nuclear Suppliers Group in April 1994, and signed the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty in February 1995.



Christopher praised President Carlos Menem, with whom he also held

talks, for signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty and helping to make

Latin America a region free of nuclear weapons.



The agreement on cooperation in space was signed by Daniel S. Goldin,

administrator of the U.S. Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),

and Conrado Varotto, chairman of the National Committee on Space

Activities (CONAE).



It renews an August 1991 accord on civil space cooperation that was

due to expire in August. In addition to extending the old framework

for an additional five years, the new agreement provides a framework

for strengthened cooperation in the use of space for research for

earth sciences and global change. Under it, CONAE will work with NASA

to develop and launch an Argentine satellite.



Di Tella said the agreements showed "a cooperative vision at work.

Technology does not hide behind borders. An isolated country cannot

develop technology on its own. These agreements show that we know that

and that the U.S. trust us."



Christopher said the United States has agreed to support Argentina's

entry as a founding member of the Wassenaar Agreement, which controls

the export of conventional weapons and sensitive technologies. "This

new agreement builds on the already strong regional leadership that

Argentina has demonstrated as the first member of the Missile

Technology Control Regime ... outside of Europe and the United

States," he said.



The secretary also announced that Argentina will become later this

year the first Latin American country to have the visa requirement

waived for temporarily business or pleasure travel to the United

States.





Christopher and Di Tella jointly condemned Cuba for the Feb. 24

downing of two civilian aircraft, and the secretary said he and his

counterpart also consulted on how Washington and Buenos Aires, as

co-guarantors under the regional Rio Protocol, could help Ecuador and

Peru resolve their border dispute.



Earlier, while visiting the first Argentine Wal-Mart franchise,

Christopher said U.S. businessmen "are voting for Argentina with their

money. They are investing here because President Menem's reforms made

Argentina one of the success stories of the decade if not of the

century."



He also called Argentine Finance Minister Domingo Cavallo "a hero for

the entire international financial community" for the leadership he

showed after the December 1994 Mexican peso devaluation rocked

Argentina and other emerging markets.



In regard to the unfinished U.S.-Argentine negotiations in the field

of medicine patents law, Christopher said he wanted "to stress that

relations between our countries are important and broad. In the vast

majority of the many issues between us we have common ground. It is

only natural that two great countries have to talk more about some

issues. The patents issue will take longer."



Buenos Aires was the third stop on Christopher's five-country tour of

Latin America and the Caribbean, the most extensive to the region by a

secretary of state since George Shultz visited the area in 1988. He

will spend the weekend in Brazil and end his trip with a stop March 4

in Trinidad and Tobago.

NNNN