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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release July 19, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

President Clinton's Trip to Southeast Europe

President Clinton will travel to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday, July 30 to participate in the southeast Europe Stability Pact Summit. The Summit, sponsored by the European Union and hosted by the Bosnian Presidency, will gather over thirty heads of state and government from Europe and North America committed to southeast Europe's political and economic recovery and integration into the Euro-Atlantic mainstream.

The leaders will discuss ways to strengthen peace and stability, deepen democracy and civil society, and promote economic reforms throughout southeast Europe. Spreading democracy and encouraging trade and investment in the region will be two important points of discussion. The meeting will also provide an opportunity to assess progress in Bosnia's peaceful transformation to a democratic, multi-ethnic state through implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords.

All the leaders of southeast Europe will be invited to participate, with the exception of President Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The United States is committed to assist in the FRY's reintegration into Europe, but only after there is a government in Belgrade that is committed to democracy, human rights and international cooperation.

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