WEBVTT

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- Thank you for hosting me.

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Thank you for the very kind words

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and warm welcome, Mr. Minister.

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It's a pleasure to meet
you today on my first visit

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to what is can only be described
as a beautiful country,

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a country we consider
a partner and a friend,

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highly respected in the United States.

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Our conversation today
continues a relationship

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begun more than 200 years ago.

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After we had our own bad argument

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with the European King that
resulted in our revolution,

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we sympathized with
our new world neighbors

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seeking to chart their own destiny.

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In the early 1800's US merchants

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supplied Argentine patriots with supplies

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in their struggle for independence.

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Argentine ships were
repaired in New Orleans,

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Philadelphia and other US ports

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and Argentine nation builders were guests

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of President James Madison

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and Secretary of State
James Monroe in Washington.

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So today at Western Hemisphere Nations

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Argentina and the Unites States

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are bound by ties of geography, of history

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and of our shared love
of freedom, democracy,

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the rule of law to guarantee

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personal liberty of our citizens.

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This historic confluence was
evidenced this last month

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when just days apart
our nations celebrated

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birthdays of our respected independence.

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Reminders that our forefathers fought

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for the freedom that we enjoy today.

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The United States did
not forget how Argentina

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strengthened this bond over the years

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since your independence,

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supporting us against Russians,

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bringing missiles into our hemisphere

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during the Cuban Missile Crisis

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and Argentina sending two war ships

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to the Naval Bloackade of
Iraq during the Gulf War,

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helping to free the Kuwaiti people

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from Saddam Hussein's
merciless occupation.

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You were leading by example

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in providing needed military support

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for respect for the
international rule of law.

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No relations between
countries are frozen in time.

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So today we too look to build
on our shared foundation

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of defense cooperation.

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We are working together
across a wide range of issues

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form humanitarian assistance
and diaster relief operations

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to nonproliferation of
weapons of mass destruction.

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We are also engaging in transparent,

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bilateral working groups in
military to military engagement,

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like the State Partnership Program

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with our Georgia National Guard.

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This gives us the heartening
image of our men and women

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from a state with the
blue ridge mountains,

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which aren't very high to your soldiers

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who from Argentine with
the Andes Mountains

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that are quite high but
these soldiers come together

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from our two countries to
strengthen the military relations,

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person to person, soldier to soldier.

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They remind us that
trusted military relations,

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transparent military relations,

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between democracy in our
hemisphere are a positive factor

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and turn to stability
and safety of our people.

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The United States appreciates
Argentina's growing role

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on the global stage illustrated

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by you're hosting the G20 Summit.

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This summer here in Buenos Aires

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and as Vice President Pence
said when he visited last year,

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Argentina's global leadership
is good for our hemisphere.

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Since arriving in Buenos
Aires last evening,

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I have enjoyed the same
warm, gracious hospitality

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that our Vice President
enjoyed in this city.

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Hospitality that the Argentine
poet Jorge Luis Borges

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called as eternal as water and air.

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Mr. Minister I have come here to listen

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and to learn and I look
forward to finding new ways

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to deepen our mutually
beneficial defense relationship.

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Together we can help
forge a brighter future

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for the next generation of
Argentines and North Americans.

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A future enhanced by transparent,

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respectful military teamwork
between the soldiers,

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sailors and airmen of our two democracies.

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When trouble looms,
whether a natural disaster

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or a naval vessel in distress,

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you will find us standing beside you.

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Thank you.

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(speaking in Spanish)