President's Trip to El Salvador
"It is one of the freest and strongest and most stable countries in our hemisphere."

El Salvador is a stable, developing democracy and among our closest allies in Latin America. We share a common outlook on most topics, including counterterrorism, democracy, law enforcement, open economies and free trade.

El Salvador has supported us on questions of less immediate importance for Salvadorans, such as enforcement of UNSC resolutions relating to Iraq, and on issues close to home, such as siting in El Salvador a forward-operating location for airborne counternarcotics activities.

The substantial Salvadoran population in the U.S. (over 1.5 million) prompts continuous dialogue between U.S. and Salvadoran officials, as does a dense network of personal relations between our two countries. In moving words of support at an Embassy ceremony on September 12, President Flores noted that the U.S. has stood with El Salvador through wars and natural disasters, and that Salvadorans would stand with America in the face of terrorism.

USG Response to Earthquakes: Last year's earthquakes, on January 13 and February 13, killed 1,159 people, damaged or destroyed 334,866 homes, and caused some $3 billion in damage. The U.S. Government quickly provided over $20 million in emergency relief assistance. In FY 2001, the U.S. Government's Earthquake Recovery Program was funded at $67 million, including $57 million through USAID and $10 million through USDA. For FY 2002, USAID will provide $100 million for earthquake recovery.

Other USAID Assistance: A USAID $62.5 million program budget for FY 2001 and FY 2002 addresses rural poverty and the peace process. USAID programs are aimed at poverty alleviation, democracy, health services, clean water, and natural disaster mitigation.

Free Trade Agreement: El Salvador has been a regional leader in economic and trade policy reform, and will be a key partner for the United States as we continue to take the necessary steps toward negotiating a free trade agreement with Central America. President Flores has set as a core objective of his administration the negotiation of free trade agreements with El Salvador's top ten trading partners by 2003. The United States is the last -- but the biggest -- on El Salvador's top ten list.