Ambassador
Ambassador Speech
AMBASSADOR WAYNE REMARKS AT COCKTAIL FOR REPRESENTATIVE JERRY COSTELLO’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
Ambassador's Residence
January 30th, 2009
It is my pleasure to introduce eight outstanding Americans to you tonight; I hope all of you will have the opportunity to talk with them.
We are honored to have Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL) and his wife Georgia, Representative John Duncan (R-TN) and his wife Lynn, Representative Henry Brown (R-SC) and his wife Billye, Representative Tim Holden (D-PA) and his wife Gwen, Representative Edie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Representative Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and his wife Jennifer, Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and his wife Judy, and Representative Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) here tonight along with all of our distinguished guests. Welcome to you all.
This delegation is headed by Representative Jerry Costello, a Democrat and senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and Chairman of its Subcommittee on Aviation. Representative Costello has served his Illinois district for over 20 years, having won eleven consecutive elections, and has received the North America Leadership Award from the Airports Council International for his work to support the aviation industry. He has been described as a man who gets things done and, in meetings with representatives of U.S. civil aviation companies operating in Argentina and with government officials such as Minister De Vido and Foreign Minister Taiana that I attended this afternoon with Mr. Costello, I can see how he earned his reputation. Representative Costello's wife, Georgia, currently the President of Southwestern Illinois College, met earlier this afternoon with Fulbright program alumnae. I am pleased to see some of them along with Fulbright Program coordinator Norma Gonzalez here this evening.
Representative Costello is joined on this trip by Representative John Duncan of Tennessee, the senior Republican and co-president ofthis delegation, who is also on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, the ranking member of its Highways and Transit Subcommittee and a member of the Aviation Subcommittee. He is a former National Guard Captain and state judge, and has been honored by several organizations for his fiscal responsibility.
This delegation's focus in Argentina is on supporting our expanding bilateral civil aviation ties and on reviewing our notable cooperation in improving the port security for the growing cargo trade between our nations. Expanding civil aviation ties between the U.S. and Argentina reflects the fact that Argentina is an "in destination" for Americans, with almost 400,000 Americans traveling down here last year alone -- that's one out of every 767 Americans, if you're doing the math. And we're delighted that more and more Argentines travel to the United States, too -- over 250,000 in 2007 alone. In response to all of this growth, in 2007 the USG and the GoA negotiated a state-of-the-art bilateral aviation agreement to allow for a doubling of flight frequencies.
Representatives of our U.S. air carriers -- American, United, Delta, and Continental -- are here with us tonight, and they can attest to the attractiveness of the Argentine market. Argentina's express air courier market is also an attractive one for U.S. firms. Both Federal Express and UPS have been growing their operations here.
Our bilateral trade in goods -- mostly carried by ship – is also expanding rapidly. Our Department of Commerce tells us that Argentine exports to the U.S. are up from US$ 4.3 billion in 2007 to well over US$ 5 billion in just the first 11 months of 2008. The U.S. is now the number 3 destination for Argentine exports. Expanded goods trade requires effective coordination between our customs and security authorities, which is another way of saying that our bilateral coordination has been exemplary. Our Department of Homeland Security's Container Security Initiative, or CSI, program was established at the Exolgan Port in Buenos Aires in 2005. Since that time, the Argentine government has proven to be one of our strongest and most forward-looking CSI partners in the region, working with our Embassy's Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Our delegation will be touring the Exolgan port tomorrow morning and Customs Director Tirabassi has graciously agreed to accompany the delegation.
Thank you again all for joining us this evening.
(Introduce Rep. Costello if he chooses to say a few words).
