Unitas Ship Donations
Ambassador
Ambassador's Speech
AMBASSADOR WAYNE’S REMARKS FOR UNITAS SHIP DONATIONS
April 27, 2007
Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to see all of you here today and especially the boys and girls from Stella Maris, as well as representatives from the Red Cross and the Rotary Club and Volunteer Firemen of Santa Fe and Las Parejas. I am particularly honored to be with here with Commodore Snyder and the men and women of his command and their counterparts from the Argentine Navy; Mrs. Maria Laura Godoy; and to have Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees, the State Department’s Special Representative for Social Issues here with us to share this important occasion .
Our Embassy and Armed Forces are committed to helping strengthen the security capabilities of our partners, and to encourage an environment of cooperation throughout the region. To accomplish this objective, we conduct numerous joint training exercises and activities and we sponsor educational programs and exchanges. At the same time, however, the U.S. military also routinely carries out a variety of humanitarian and goodwill activities that directly help those in need.
Today’s donations are a perfect example of this. These donations come from the people of the United States and are being transported by our Navy’s ships to those in need throughout Latin America through a U.S. humanitarian organization called Project Handclasp. Included in today’s donations to Argentina are toys, recreational items, medical supplies and sewing machines for the Stella Maris orphanages here in Buenos Aires and Bahia Blanca; over 14,000 emergency meals to the Argentine Red Cross; and this wonderful ambulance and rapid response equipment to the city of La Parejas in Sante Fe province.
These donations represent the US armed forces’ and US people’s longstanding commitment to making a difference in the lives of average citizens in need. We saw this in their tsunami relief efforts in South Asia, in the aftermath of the earthquake in Pakistan, and here today. They also reflect our desire to invest in Argentina’s young people in order to give them the capacity they need to participate in a globalized world. I look forward to continuing such programs that help out those in need while strengthening the bond between the United States and Argentina.
Thank-you.
