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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 28, 1999

               PRESIDENT'S SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE AMERICAS
       TO URGE INCREASED ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AT TWO CONFERENCES
            ON THE HEMISPHERE SEPTEMBER 30TH AND OCTOBER 1ST

President Clinton's Special Envoy for the Americas, Mr. Kenneth H. "Buddy" MacKay Jr., will attend the Wall Street Journal's Eighth Annual Conference on the Americas on September 30th, and the Miami Herald's Third Annual Americas Conference on October 1st. The Special Envoy will take these opportunities to press forward in efforts to increase momentum for economic integration in the hemisphere, to develop more effective trade relationships, and to strengthen democratic institutions while combating the scourges of drug trafficking and natural disasters.

High on his list of issues at both conferences will be Administration efforts to enhance and expand the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and promotion of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. While in New York, Mr. MacKay will also join Secretary of State Albright in a separate meeting with key ministers from Caribbean States, and will speak with other national leaders from the Americas and U.S. businessmen to discuss these initiatives and other policies that promote economic integration of the hemisphere.

"I am extremely pleased to participate in these events where there will be such influential professionals and national leaders who have a special understanding of the initiatives that this administration is seeking to move forward in this hemisphere," Special Envoy MacKay said. "We must use these opportunities to bring more focus and energy to our goals of strengthening our economies and improving the lives of all our peoples."

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