President Obama, President Pinera Meet in Santiago

Announcer (as translated): His Excellency, President of the Republic of Chile,
Mr. Sebastián Piñera Echenique and the President of the United
States of America, His Excellency,
President Barack Obama, are now entering the patio de las cameras.
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to you all.
Welcome to the joint press conference of the Presidents of
Chile and the United States.
First, we will hear His Excellency,
President of the Republic of Chile,
Mr. Sebastián Piñera Echenique.
President Piñera (as translated): Good afternoon, everyone.
Firstly, I would like to cordially and heartily welcome a
friend of Chile and a personal friend, President Obama.
I think that your visit, President,
is very important and has enormous significance for Chile.
It's the first time in more than 20 years that a President of the
United States visits our country.
Of course, we've had several multilateral summits of world
leaders, and this visit coincides with the celebration
of 50 years of the Alliance for Progress that was announced by
President Kennedy at the beginning of the '60s.
We have had with President Obama a very open, frank,
and fruitful conversation, and we have been able to subscribe
many agreements of different nature,
but they do have something in common.
They all contribute to a better life and better quality of life
for our peoples -- like trade promotion and to accelerate and
perfect the free trade agreement we have with the United States;
cooperation in the field of education and English teaching
in order to make of Chile bilingual country;
collaboration in the developments and efficient use
of energies, and cleaner energies in particular --
renewable energies, where Chile has enormous potential;
and also collaboration in research technologies and
training of our engineers and technicians in nuclear energy.
But I want to be very clear and adamant.
Chile is not going to build, nor is it planning to build any
nuclear power plants during our government,
during our administration.
The idea of this agreement is that we may understand much
better nuclear technologies, to be able to train our engineers
and technicians so that in the future we may make more informed
decisions, more intelligent decisions protecting the health
and life of our population, the environment, and nature,
and also that will allow us to ensure that the operation of our
two experimental nuclear power plants be fully, fully safe.
Also we have signed agreements to collaborate in natural
disasters, in early warning mechanisms and effective aid and
rescue of civil populations.
We have much to learn from -- in situations like FEMA in the
United States.
Another agreement is something addressing the only renewable
resource of modern times -- science,
technology and innovation and entrepreneurship --
that we need to re-strengthen in our country so as to reach the
development states that we are seeking.
And then finally agreements to better protect our nature,
our environment.
I want to tell you, President Obama,
that when you announced your visit to Chile,
Brazil and El Salvador on the occasion of the State of the
Union address, you said you were coming to forge new partnerships
for the progress of the Americas,
and you said that throughout all the world you were committed to
those countries that assume their responsibilities.
Frankly, I think that Chile has assumed and will continue to
assume its responsibility with our fate, with our region,
with our country, and to the extent possible,
with the rest of the world.
And as we have been able to evidence in our conversations
not only today but also in your country and in Asia,
we have discovered that our two nations have a road of
collaboration that can be built on rock and not on sand,
because we coincide in that which is key --
the values, the principles, the visions.
That facilitates the road.
And with that we can convincingly embrace this new
alliance, this new partnership between the United States of
America and the rest of the American countries --
we are all Americans -- an alliance that should be much
deeper and forward-looking than the Alliance for Progress.
And this partnership, this alliance is one of our times,
of our 21st century, of the society of information and technology.
President Obama, Chile has set for itself an ambitious goal:
Before the end of this decade to leave under-development behind;
to defeat poverty and to build a society of opportunities and
assurance for all of its sons and daughters;
and also to achieve a strong alliance among equals,
with the same rights, obligations of Latin America
with the United States.
And this is going to be very powerful,
very useful in many fields: promotion of world peace,
perfecting of democracy, rule of law,
and defense of human rights; but also in economic integration
where Chile aspires to accelerate,
perfect and deepen our free trade agreement with the United States.
Also, we would like to raise our voice to ask for countries like
Colombia and Panama also to have free trade agreements with your
country and may join in this Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative.
It's going to be a free trade area on both sides of the
Pacific Ocean and where we will find the largest free trade
market in the world.
Also, we are concerned about the delays and tensions of the Doha Round.
I know that the United States is going to make efforts for this
to move forward.
And then, on the other hand, I would like to raise to you a
much closer collaboration in the field of science, technology,
innovation and undertaking, because in modern times free
trade has to be not only of goods but of ideas;
not only of services but of knowledge;
not only of investments but also of technology.
And to also press, Mr. President,
we are committed in the struggle against poverty and excessive
inequalities in our country and our continent.
And we want to keep on collaborating with the U.S. so
as to contribute to other Latin American countries.
Just like we can learn from them,
they can learn from success stories in our country.
And in combating the evils of modern society --
fight against drug trafficking, terrorism, global warming,
and the proliferation of massive destruction weapons and nuclear weapons.
I was talking with President Obama in --
so far as avoiding this nuclear menace.
But it's not only that a few countries in the world will have
nuclear weapons and others not, but to have a world without
weapons of mass destruction.
This is the common goal we share with President Obama and with
all the men and women of goodwill of all of the world.
President Obama, I have read with great attention your words
in Cairo, Egypt, for the Arab world,
where you proposed a new beginning in the relations
between the United States and the Islam world, and also,
your words in Accra, Ghana, where you raised a new
commitment, a new promise, a new commitment with the sub-Saharan
African world.
And today, the winds of freedom, of democracy,
of participation and protection of human rights are stronger
than ever, even in those countries that had --
it had not existed for many years.
This is a great opportunity to have a new alliance between the
United States and the Latin America countries.
That is why I would like to tell you that Latin America is more
prepared than ever today so as to leave poverty and
underdevelopment behind that have been with us for 200 years
of independent life, and undertake the adventure of the
future of democracy, of freedom, of development,
of equality of opportunities.
That we may have a continent as we have dreamt it always from
Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, from the Pacific to the Atlantic
Ocean, that will become a land of freedom, of opportunities,
of progress, but also a land of fairness and camaraderie as
dreamt by the Founding Fathers of that great nation,
like the United States, like the case of Jefferson,
a great patriot like Lincoln, but also like San Martin and
O'higgins from our continent.
And the question is a very straightforward one,
a very simple one: It's our challenge.
It's our mission, the mission of the generation of the bicentennial.
Because if it's not now, then when?
If we are not the ones, then who?
Then, President Obama, we listen with great attention,
with great interest, the message you will deliver in a few hours
from the Cultural Center of La Moneda to Latin America and to
the whole world.
Thank you very much.
(applause)
Announcer (as translated): We thank the words of the President of the Republic of
Chile, Mr. Sebastián Piñera Echenique.
Now, we will hear the President of the United States,
His Excellency, Mr. Barack Obama.
President Obama: Thank you very much, President Piñera.
Buenes tardes to everyone here.
I want to, first of all, just extend my greetings to the
people of Chile, and I am so grateful for not only the
generous words, but also the outstanding hospitality that's
being shown to me, as well as my family.
I want to begin today by noting that President Piñera and I
discussed some urgent events unfolding around the world.
Together with our partners, the United States is taking military
action to enforce U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 and
protect the Libyan people.
Across the region, we believe that the legitimate aspirations
of people must be met and that violence against civilians is
not the answer.
And across the Pacific, both Chile and the United States are
supporting the Japanese people as they recover from the
catastrophic earthquake and tsunami and address the
situation in their damaged nuclear facility.
These events remind us that in our interconnected world,
the security and prosperity of nations and peoples are
intertwined as never before.
And no region is more closely linked than the United States
and Latin America.
And here in the Americas, one of our closest and strongest
partners is Chile.
Chile is one of the great success stories of this region.
It's built a robust democracy.
It's been one of the most open and fastest growing economies in the world.
The spirit and resilience of the Chilean people,
especially after last year's earthquake,
have inspired people across the globe.
And in my speech this afternoon, I look forward to paying tribute
to Chile's progress and the lessons it offers as America
forges a new era of partnership across the Americas.
I was proud to welcome President Piñera to Washington last year
for our Nuclear Security Summit.
Mr. President, I want to commend you on your decisive leadership
in these first few months of office,
and first year of office, a time that's been obviously very
difficult and has tested the people of Chile.
I want to thank you for the focus and energy that you've
brought to the partnership between our two countries,
which we have strengthened today.
We're moving ahead with efforts to expand trade and investment,
as the President mentioned.
Under our existing trade agreement,
trade between the United States and Chile has more than doubled,
creating new jobs and opportunities in both our countries.
But I believe and President Piñera believes that there's
always more we can do to expand our economic cooperation.
So today we recommitted ourselves to fully implementing
our free trade agreement to include protections of
intellectual property so our businesses can innovate and stay competitive.
We agreed to build on the progress we're making towards a
Trans-Pacific Partnership so we can seize the full potential of
trade in the Asia Pacific, especially for our small and
medium businesses.
It's my hope that, along with our other partners,
we can reach an agreement on the framework for the TPP by the end
of this year, an agreement that can serve as a model for the
21st century.
We're expanding the clean energy partnerships that are key to
creating green jobs and addressing climate change,
which is evident in the glacier melt in this region.
As a member of the Energy and Climate Partnership for the
Americas that I proposed, Chile is already sharing its expertise
with solar with the region.
I want to commend President Piñera for agreeing to take
another step, hosting a new center to address glacier melt
in the Andes.
In addition, a new U.S.-Chile Energy Business Council will
encourage collaborations between our companies in areas like
energy efficiency and renewable technologies.
Our governments have agreed to share our experience in dealing
with natural disasters, an area, of course,
where Chile has enormous expertise and which is critical
to recovery and economic reconstruction.
The President and I discussed our shared commitment to
expanding educational exchanges among our students who can learn
from each other and bring our countries even closer together.
And in my speech today, I'll announce an ambitious new
initiative to increase student exchanges between the United
States and Latin America, including Chile.
Even as we deepen cooperation between our two countries,
I want to take this opportunity to commend Chile for the
leadership role that it's increasingly playing across the Americas.
Chile is a vital contributor to the United Nations mission in
Haiti, where we agree that yesterday's election is an
opportunity to accelerate recovery and reconstruction
efforts, and the Chilean legislature recently passed
strong legislation to combat the scourge of human trafficking.
Under President Piñera's leadership,
Chile is taking a new step today.
Mr. President, I want to thank you for offering to share
Chile's security expertise with Central American nations as they
fight back against criminal gangs and narco-traffickers.
I'm also pleased that our two governments will be working
together to promote development in the Americas.
At the same time, Chile is assuming more a leadership role
beyond the Americas.
As part of last year's Nuclear Security Summit,
Chile took the bold step of giving up its stockpile of
highly enriched uranium.
Chile is the first Latin American nation to join a new
international effort to strengthen civil society groups
that are under threat.
And as a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council,
Chile has joined with us in standing up against human rights
abuses in Iran and in Libya.
In short, Mr. President, today we've proven again that when the
United States and Chile work together in a spirit of mutual
interest and mutual respect, it's not only good for the
peoples of our nations, I believe it's good for the region
and it's good for the world.
And I'm confident that our partnership will only grow
stronger in the years to come.
And I'm very much grateful for the wonderful hospitality that
you're showing me and my delegation.
Thank you very much.
(applause)
Announcer (as translated): We thank the words of the President of the United States.
Now, we will proceed to the questions from the media.
We remind you that only three questions will be allowed and
they have been decided on.
One from Chile, one from international.
The first question is Rodrigo Vergara [phonetic] on behalf of
the Association of Journalists from La Moneda.
The Press (as translated): President Piñera, President Obama, good afternoon.
President Obama, you have emphasized and highlighted the
economic management of Chile, the leadership in the region --
those were your words -- and even the successful
transitioning to democracy in the difficult years of the '90s.
However, in Chile, President Obama,
there are some open wounds of the dictatorship of General Pinochet.
And so in that sense, leaders, political leaders,
leaders of the world, of human rights, even MPs,
the son of the murdered Orlando Letelier, foreign minister,
have said that many of those wounds have to do with the
United States.
I ask you, justice is investigating cases of Allende
and the death of President Eduardo Frei Montalba.
In that new speech that you will announce,
do you include that the U.S. is willing to collaborate with
those judicial investigations, even that the United States is
willing to ask for forgiveness for what it did in those very
difficult years in the '70s in Chile?
President Obama: Well, on the specific question of how we can work with the
Chilean government, any requests that are made by Chile to obtain
more information about the past is something that we will
certainly consider and we would like to cooperate.
I think it's very important for all of us to know our history.
And obviously the history of relations between the United
States and Latin America have at times been extremely rocky and
have at times been difficult.
I think it's important, though, for us,
even as we understand our history and gain clarity about
our history, that we're not trapped by our history.
And the fact of the matter is, is that over the last two
decades we've seen extraordinary progress here in Chile and that
has not been impeded by the United States but, in fact,
has been fully supported by the United States.
So I can't speak to all of the policies of the past.
I can speak certainly to the policies of the present and the future.
And as President of the United States,
what I know is that our firm commitment to democracy,
our firm commitment to eradicating poverty,
our full commitment to broad-based and socially
inclusive development, our full support of the robust,
open markets that have developed here in Chile and the work that
President Piñera and his predecessor, President Bachelet,
have done in order to transform the economic situation here --
those are all things that the United States strongly supports.
And so, again, it's important for us to learn from our
history, to understand our history,
but not be trapped by it -- because we've got a lot of
challenges now and, even more importantly,
we have challenges in the future that we have to attend to.
Announcer (as translated): The second question is by Jim Kuhnhenn from the
Associated Press.
The Press: Mr. President, Senor Presidente, muchas gracias.
Sir, how do you square your position that Colonel Qaddafi
has lost legitimacy and must go against the limited objective of
this campaign, which does not demand his removal?
If Colonel Qaddafi is killing his own people,
is it permissible to let him stay in power?
And if I may add, do you have any regret, sir,
about undertaking this mission while you're on foreign soil?
And do you have the support of the Arab people in this yet?
President Obama: Okay.
First of all, I think I'm going to embarrass Jim by letting
everyone know that Jim's mother is Chilean,
and so this is a little bit of a homecoming.
You were born in Chile, am I right?
The Press: Yes, sir.
It's a delight to be here.
Thank you.
President Obama: Fantastic.
So I thought everybody should know that.
And also, I think that for all the Chilean press,
you don't need to take Jim's example by asking three
questions, pretending it's one.
(laughter)
The Press: One subject.
(laughter)
President Obama: First of all, I think it's very easy to square our military
actions and our stated policies.
Our military action is in support of a international
mandate from the Security Council that specifically
focuses on the humanitarian threat posed by Colonel Qaddafi
to his people.
Not only was he carrying out murders of civilians but he
threatened more.
He said very specifically, we will show no mercy to people who
lived in Benghazi.
And in the face of that, the international community rallied
and said, we have to stop any potential atrocities inside of
Libya, and provided a broad mandate to accomplish that
specific task.
As part of that international coalition,
I authorized the United States military to work with our
international partners to fulfill that mandate.
Now, I also have stated that it is U.S. policy that Qaddafi
needs to go.
And we've got a wide range of tools in addition to our
military efforts to support that policy.
We were very rapid in initiating unilateral sanctions and then
helping to mobilize international sanctions against
the Qaddafi regime.
We froze assets that Qaddafi might have used to further
empower himself and purchase weapons or hire mercenaries that
might be directed against the Libyan people.
So there are a whole range of policies that we are putting in
place that has created one of the most powerful international
consensuses around the isolation of Mr. Qaddafi,
and we will continue to pursue those.
But when it comes to our military action,
we are doing so in support of U.N. Security Resolution 1973,
that specifically talks about humanitarian efforts.
And we are going to make sure that we stick to that mandate.
I think it's also important, since we're on the topic,
that I have consistently emphasized that because we're
working with international partners,
after the initial thrust that has disabled Qaddafi's air
defenses, limits his ability to threaten large population
centers like Benghazi, that there is going to be a
transition taking place in which we have a range of coalition
partners -- the Europeans, members of the Arab league --
who will then be participating in establishing a no-fly zone there.
And so there is going to be a transition taking place in which
we are one of the partners among many who are going to ensure
that that no-fly zone is enforced and that the
humanitarian protection that needs to be provided continues
to be in place.
With respect to initiating this action while I was abroad,
keep in mind that we were working on very short time
frames, and we had done all the work and it was just a matter of
seeing how Qaddafi would react to the warning that I issued on Friday.
He, despite words to the contrary,
was continuing to act aggressively towards his civilians.
After a consultation with our allies,
we decided to move forward.
And it was a matter of me directing Secretary of Defense
Gates and Admiral Mullen that the plan that had been developed
in great detail extensively prior to my departure was put
into place.
Jim, I've forgotten if they were any other elements of that question.
But I've tried to be as thorough as possible.
The Press: Arab support, sir.
President Obama: Well, look, the Arab League specifically called for a no-fly
zone before we went to the United Nations.
And that was I think an important element in this
overall campaign.
The Press: But will they be part of the mission?
President Obama: Absolutely.
We are in consultations as we speak.
As I said, there are different phases to the campaign.
The initial campaign, we took a larger role because we've got
some unique capabilities.
Our ability to take out, for example,
Qaddafi's air defense systems are much more significant than
some of our other partners.
What that does then is it creates the space;
it shapes the environment in which a no-fly zone can actually
be effective.
It was also important to make sure that we got in there
quickly so that whatever advances were being made on
Benghazi could be halted, and we could send a clear message to
Qaddafi that he needed to start pulling his troops back.
Now, keep in mind, we've only been in this process for two
days now, and so we are continuing to evaluate the
situation on the ground.
I know the Pentagon and our Defense Department will be
briefing you extensively as this proceeds.
But the core principle that has to be upheld here is that when
the entire international community almost unanimously
says that there is a potential humanitarian crisis about to
take place, that a leader who has lost his legitimacy decides
to turn his military on his own people,
that we can't simply stand by with empty words;
that we have to take some sort of action.
I think it's also important to note that the way that the U.S.
took leadership and managed this process ensures international
legitimacy and ensures that our partners,
members of the international coalition are bearing the burden
of following through on the mission, as well.
Because, as you know, in the past there have been times where
the United States acted unilaterally or did not have
full international support, and as a consequence typically it
was the United States military that ended up bearing the entire burden.
Now, last point I'll make on this: I could not be prouder of
the manner in which the U.S. military has performed over the
last several days.
And it's a testament to the men and women in uniform who,
when they're given a mission, they execute and do an
outstanding job.
But, obviously, our military is already very stretched and
carries large burdens all around the world.
And whenever possible for us to be able to get international
cooperation -- not just in terms of words,
but also in terms of planes and pilots and resources --
that's something that we should actively seek and embrace,
because it relieves the burden on our military and it relieves
the burden on U.S. taxpayers to fulfill what is an international
mission and not simply a U.S. mission.
The Press: Thank you, sir.
The Press (as translated): Mr. President, can I ask you -- I will ask you in English --
(speaking English): I'd like you to answer to the response that the President gave
regarding the wounds that still linger in this country,
and the needs that some of the people in this country want for
an apology from the United States, perhaps,
and certainly for assistance in any investigations that are
still ongoing here.
Thank you.
President Piñera (as translated): The coup d'etat existed in Chile
40 years ago.
We had a long and profound conversation with President Obama.
We didn't have much time to cover all the issues of the
future, so we didn't so back into the past.
But I can tell you that Chile, our government and this
President believes, firmly believes in the
self-determination of peoples, and firmly believes in the rule
of law and respect for human rights.
For that reason, when we had evidence that in the case of
President Frei Montalba, there could have been a homicide,
our government submitted a claim, a complaint,
is party to it, and it's collaborating to investigate
those responsible for the death of the former President Frei Montalba.
And once the judiciary ascertains those
responsibilities, they will have to assume the penalties and
punishment according to our rule of law.
In the case of President Allende,
we don't have the same basis.
But if we had them, we would act exactly in the same way and --
or the same presumptions.
And I would like to say finally that today,
the subject of democracy, of human rights has no borders,
does not recognize any border, and that is progress of this
21st century civilization.
And that is why Chile supports the initiative of the United
Nations through its Security Council,
NATO and the Arab League to do all that is possible to end a
true carnage, killing of civilians in Libya.
And I think that is a responsibility of the
international community, because as I said a while ago,
human rights do not and should not respect borders.
The responsibility is of all of us in each and every place of
the world, whatever the circumstances involved to
violate human rights.
And in my view, a person that has bombarded his own people
does not deserve to keep on being the ruler of that people.
Announcer (as translated): The last question of this conference will be by
Macarena de Vidal [phonetic] from Spain.
The Press: Mr. President, you asked the Chilean press not to take
advantage and make a several-part question,
but you didn't mention the international press.
(laughter)
President Obama: Are you a lawyer or a journalist?
(laughter)
The Press: Well, we try to be precise.
(laughter)
So on Libya, when you say that you will be transferring
command, when are you thinking of transferring command?
And would NATO be the preferred partner to take over that command?
And the second part of the question is that you have said
that you want an alliance among equals with the peoples of the Americas.
What deliverables are you going to go for after this trip to
achieve it?
(as translated): And, Señor Presidente Piñera, what is the content of this
partnership so as to meet the goals of the region?
President Obama: Well, with respect to Libya, obviously,
the situation is evolving on the ground.
And how quickly this transfer takes place will be determined
by the recommendations of our commanding officers that the
mission has been completed -- the first phase of the mission
has been completed.
As I said, our initial focus is taking out Libyan air defenses
so that a no-fly zone can operate effectively and aircraft
and pilots of the coalition are not threatened when they're
maintaining the no-fly zone.
The second aspect of this is making sure that the
humanitarian aspects of the mission can be met.
But let me emphasize that we anticipate this transition to
take place in a matter of days and not a matter of weeks.
And so I would expect that over the next several days we'll have
more information, and the Pentagon will be fully briefing
the American people, as well as the press on that issue.
NATO will be involved in a coordinating function because of
the extraordinary capacity of that alliance.
But I will leave it to Admiral Mullen and those who are
directly involved in the operation to describe to you how
exactly that transfer might be --
might take place.
With respect to this new partnership,
I don't want to give you all my best lines from my speech;
otherwise no one will come.
(laughter)
But the thing that I'm most excited about is the fact that
in a country like Chile, it's not just a matter of what we can
give to Chile; it's also a matter of what Chile can offer us.
Chile has done some very interesting work around clean
energy, so we set up a clean energy partnership.
We think we're doing terrific work on alternative energy
sources, but there may be initiatives that are taking
place here in Chile that might be transferable to the United States.
On education, obviously we have a long history of public
education and our universities I think are second to none.
But we want to make sure that in this increasingly integrated
world, American students aren't just looking inwards,
we're also looking outwards.
And so the idea of us setting up a broad-based exchange program
with the Americas I think makes an enormous difference.
Security cooperation: The plague of narco-traffickers in the
region is something that we're all too familiar with.
And obviously we have the example of Colombia that has
made great strides in bringing security to a country that had
been ravaged by drug wars.
What lessons can we take and then apply them to smaller
countries in Central America, for example,
that are going through these same struggles?
For Chile, the United States, Colombia,
other countries to work in concert to help to train
effective security operations in Central America to deal with
narco-traffickers is a kind of collaboration that would not be
as effective if the United States were operating on its own.
So I think across the spectrum of issues that we care about
deeply, and that Chile care about deeply,
what will characterize this new partnership is the fact that
it's a two-way street.
This is not just a situation where a highly developed country
is helping a poor and impoverished country;
this is a situation where an up-and-coming regional power
that has a strong voice in international affairs is now
collaborating with us to hopefully help greater peace and
prosperity for the region and the world.
President Piñera (as translated): No doubt that insofar as
integration of the Americas, we are lagging behind.
And the best way to illustrate this is to compare what has
happened in America with what happened in Europe.
Last century, the Europeans had two world wars with a toll of
more than 70 million casualties.
But at some point, they had the wisdom,
the courage to abandon the rationale of Line Maginot,
or Siegfried Line and to embrace Maastricht Treaty.
With the leadership and the vision of such renowned
statesmen like Adenauer and De Gasperi, Housman, Truman --
they began to build what today we know of as European Union.
And in America, we are much behind that.
In America, 20 years ago, President Bush, father,
raised the idea of a free trade area from Alaska to "Fire Land"
generating a lot of enthusiasm in the region,
but it never came true, never materialized.
And so the time is right now because Latin America has been
for too long the continent of hope or of the future,
but a continent cannot be a promise forever.
And so we are of age now and we need to fulfill our mission.
Therefore the main task of Latin America is to recover the lost
time and tap all of its potential.
We have lots of things in common with the U.S. -- vast,
generous territory; homogenous peoples; hardworking people.
We don't have racial problems that affect some African
countries, or the wars that raged in Europe,
nor the religious conflicts of Europe itself.
And therefore Latin America is called to compromise,
or rather commitment with its own fate.
And therefore we are looking forward to President Obama's words.
We are all left-handed -- we have many coincidences --
we studied in Harvard, both of us.
We are sportsmen.
President Obama continues to be a basketball player;
I was in my time, as well.
I think the First Lady of the U.S. is very good-looking,
and President Obama has said the same about the First Lady of Chile.
There are plenty of coincidences,
but the most important one is the one we'll find this afternoon.
And modestly, if I could suggest to President Obama,
we hope to have a partnership that is --
one where we have all responsibilities and not an
existential alliance because existentialism has never been
enough to face the major problems,
but rather a partnership of collaboration between Latin
America and the United States sharing values, principles,
and a common vision.
And that alliance should be comprehensive.
It should reach out to the fields of democracy, freedom,
rule of law, defense of human rights.
And I think that we have to improve the democratic charter
of OAS.
It should also open up the doors to the free trade of goods and
services, and faster than what we have done hereto.
And in addition to that, to include those subjects which are
the true pillars of the 21st century --
quality of education, science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship.
Therein lie the pillars for Latin America so as to leave
poverty and anti-development behind.
And we have so much to learn from a country like the United
States, that, in its 230 years of independent life,
has really given true evidence of being an innovative country
and that has made the largest contribution to progress of mankind.
And thus, Latin America and the United States have a lot to gain
from this alliance, but also has to reach out to two of the most
important challenges of the 21st century: energy, to have clean,
safe renewable energies; and water --
if global warming keeps on going,
could be the most scarce resource of our century.
And also face the major problems of modern society that cannot be
faced unilaterally -- organized crime, terrorism,
drug trafficking, global warming,
the subject of world security.
It can no longer be faced individually.
We need to work jointly together.
And in our view, that will call for a new international order
that will replace that which emerged in Bretton Woods after
the Second World War, and to be appropriate and adaptive to the
needs and challenges of the 21st century,
where the only constant thing we have is change.
So the time is right to recover all that lost time.
And the time is here so that finally this relationship of
encounters -- these encounters of shaking hands,
(unintelligible) for that to be in the past.
And let us initiate a new era of collaboration,
reencountering friendly, effectively, concretely,
that will truly face and solve the major problems;
that will also open up the doors to tap the main opportunities.
This society of knowledge and information is knocking on our doors.
Latin America was late to the Industrial Revolution.
We cannot be late in this tremendous revolution,
which is so much deeper, which is that of knowledge and information.
And it has been very generous with the countries that want to
embrace it, but very cool with those countries that do not tap it.
No child should be left behind --
I've heard this from President Obama.
And here, we say in Latin America,
no country should be left behind.
Thank you.
(applause)