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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                            (Miami, Florida)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  December 11, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Official Delegation for Panama Canal Turnover

The President is proud to announce that former President Jimmy Carter will lead a high-level delegation of distinguished Americans to the December 14, 1999, Panama Canal transfer ceremony. The delegation includes two cabinet members, Commerce Secretary Daley and Transportation Secretary Slater, leading members of Congress, former U.S. officials - such as Panama Canal Treaty negotiator Sol Linowitz - and other noteworthy members.

The transfer ceremony is an historic event with profound significance for the United States, Panama, and the rest of the region. It culminates a 22-year process during which the U.S. and Panama worked together to ensure the security and well-being of the canal. The delegation reflects our continuing commitment to a secure canal open to the maritime traffic of all nations, to the close relationship we enjoy with Panama, and to the principles of political cooperation, economic integration, and security partnership that will define hemispheric relations in the coming century.

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