*EPF206 11/26/2002
Transcript: Sec. Powell Outlines U.S.-Mexico Agenda, Other Policy Issues
(Predicts "a full discussion" on bilateral, regional, global concerns) (3220)

En route to Mexico City for the U.S.-Mexico Bi-National Commission Meeting scheduled for November 26, Secretary of State Colin Powell said that he anticipated "a very in-depth discussion on foreign policy issues," both regional and global, as well as a full discussion of the bilateral agenda between Mexico and the United States.

Powell added that he and Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castañeda would "discuss migration issues, border-control issues, [and] water issues" that confront their two nations. He also cited his consultations with the foreign secretary on matters relating to the recent United Nations resolution on Iraq, which Powell heralded as "a sign of Mexico's involvement on the world stage as a member of the [U.N.] Security Council." And because Castañeda "has always expressed an interest in the Middle East and other issues," Powell said, he expects a wide-ranging discussion on "those sorts of issues, and especially regional issues [such as the respective situations in] Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela."

Conceding that progress on migration issues has been hampered by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, which immediately established national security as the overwhelming priority for the Bush Administration, Powell explained that he currently has "no new specific proposals" to offer on migration policy. He pointed to the U.S. congressional elections that took place on November 5, which will inevitably affect the political landscape, and the newly authorized creation of the Department of Homeland Security, as additional factors to be considered. "So all of these factors I want to discuss" with colleagues in Mexico, he said.

Although "there are a lot of things going on," President Bush "has not lost his desire to move forward on this front," Powell stressed. "He fully shares [Mexican] President [Vicente] Fox's desire to see movement on this, and Jorge Castañeda and I will be discussing how to move forward with all of these different things taking place." Reiterating that the United States remains "interested and determined to move forward on all these [bilateral] issues," Powell said that "progress hasn't been as rapid as we might have liked because of a number of intervening circumstances."

Responding to a reporter's question about the issue of water from the Rio Grande River that Mexico is legally obligated to deliver to the United States, the secretary of state expressed his hope that the Mexican government would indicate by mid-December that the water would be allocated in time for the Texas growing season. "It is a serious problem in Texas," Powell said. "They need the water. Agriculture in that part of Texas is in difficulty without the additional water. So you can be sure it will be an item of serious discussion."

Powell the United States is meeting its own treaty obligations to provide water to Mexico from the Colorado River, "so we feel equity is appropriate here."

On the subject of moving towards a negotiated settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Powell observed that "Israel is now deeply involved in an election process" to determine the composition of its next government. While Israeli voters "sort out who should be the next prime minister of Israel," he pledged that the United States will "continue to stay engaged" in the peace process and will "then wait to see where we are early in the new year, with the new Israeli government" in place.

Following is a transcript of Powell's remarks en route to Mexico City:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Mexico City, Mexico)
November 25, 2002

Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell
Remarks en route to Mexico City, Mexico

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you for joining us as we head down to Mexico City for the Bi-National Commission Meeting. This will be the first we've had since President Fox's very successful summit visit this last September. You will recall we had one at that time incident to the summit trip. The agenda I think is well known to you. We will discuss migration issues, border-control issues, water issues. I think we'll have a very in-depth discussion on foreign policy issues, both regional foreign policy issues as well as more broadly. I did a lot with Foreign Secretary Castañeda on the Iraq resolution a few weeks ago, I think, which is a sign of Mexico's involvement on the world stage as a member of the Security Council. I'm sure we'll review the bidding on that, and Foreign Secretary Castañeda has always expressed an interest in the Middle East and other issues, so I think we'll have a full discussion of those sorts of issues, and especially regional issues: Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela.

As you know, there are a number of other cabinet officers who are already down there, or going down with me, such as Governor Whitman.

And so we are looking forward to a pretty good day in Mexico tomorrow. I will also have an opportunity, I think I will take a separate tour of the visa consular section, and I am looking forward to that. An enormous number of people flow through that process, and I just want to get a sense of what it actually looks like and how they're handling it, and what we can do to make sure it's state-of-the-art, so that people can come into our country rapidly but with safety and security for us as well as for them, and that ought to be the highlight of the day for me.

But anyway, but let me take whatever questions you might have on this trip or any other subjects.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, are you prepared to make specific proposals concerning the granting of a legal status to illegal Mexican migrants during this trip?

SECRETARY POWELL: I have no new specific proposals. We will be discussing migration issues, all aspects of our migration policy, regularization, worker permits, all the issues you are familiar with, but I have no proposals. The situation has changed quite a bit since the Guanajuato summit of early 2001, with 9/11, with the creation of the Homeland Security Department, which as you know, the bill was signed by the President this afternoon and Governor Tom Ridge was announced as the new Secretary-to-be of the Department of Homeland Security, and Gordon Englund as the Deputy Secretary, currently the Secretary of the Navy. And with INS, then flowing into the Homeland Security Department, there are a lot of pieces in play. And we now have, of course, also a different composition in Congress as a result of the elections earlier this month. So all of these factors I want to discuss with Foreign Secretary Castañeda and Secretary Creel and John Ashcroft, and Mr. Zigler, and of course Mr. Zigler is also leaving next week.

So there are a lot of things going on, but the President has not lost his desire to move forward on this front. He fully shares President Fox's desire to see movement on this, and Jorge Castañeda and I will be discussing how to move forward with all of these different things taking place. But I have no specific new proposal to put on the table. Ambassador Garza, I think, was reflecting all of these items in his current statements. I talked to him earlier today, and he was just making the point that we remained interested and determined to move forward on all these issues, but progress hasn't been as rapid as we might have liked because of a number of intervening circumstances that I just touched on.

QUESTION: The other issue that -- can you hear? -- the other issue where there is some bone of contention is on the water issue. Last week we were told by a senior official that you guys were hopeful that the Mexicans might come up with or present to you a repayment plan. Is that still your hope?

SECRETARY POWELL: It is our hope that the Mexicans would by the end of the year, by mid-December for the Texas growing season, indicate that they would allocate the water we believe is due to us under the International Treaty of 1944. And you can be sure that we will be discussing this. It is a serious problem in Texas. They need the water. Agriculture in that part of Texas is in difficulty without the additional water. So you can be sure it will be an item of serious discussion.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, with the election coming up in 2004, don't you have just a window here, just a short window to negotiate any migration agreement that you might like to develop?

SECRETARY POWELL: We will work as hard as we can and as fast as we can to see what is possible. But really, the whole situation changed radically as a result of 9/11. We have to understand, we have to know who is coming into the country. We have to work with Canada and Mexico on border-security issues. We have to deal with the whole issue of people coming to our country from elsewhere, and that is taking a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of energy, and we will work as hard we can and as fast as we can, and we understand the natural desire of President Fox to have this in place as soon as we can. And I will talk to Foreign Secretary Castañeda about how much progress I think it might be possible to make in the year ahead.

We're not dragging our feet; we are just facing certain realities that I will discuss with the Foreign Secretary. We are going to move quickly in this whole visa issue. I am very pleased that Congress confirmed Assistant Secretary Maura Harty who is with me today, and she has already started to clear up a number of the issues that were causing us difficulties in recent weeks on visas and the like.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, there is a story in Newsweek about Princess Haifa and money possibly going to hijackers in California. Do you know anything about this? Have you talked to Prince Bandar at all or the Saudi Government?

SECRETARY POWELL: I am aware of the stories, and I know that our authorities are looking into it, the FBI and others. I think it is unlikely that Prince Bandar or Her Royal Highness would do anything that would support terrorist activities. But I do not know the circumstances of fund transfer or aware of where the money was intended to go, or where the account holder, [whoever it] turns out to be, thought the money was going. So I think I have to leave it to the authorities that are looking into it to complete the investigations and see where we are.

I am sure you took note of the Saudi statement today that said there was nothing to the story. That is the Saudi statement, not mine. But I think it is being looked into and will hold comment until it has been looked into. But I think it unlikely that Princess Haifa or Prince Bandar would do anything knowingly to support anybody connected to terrorist activity.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask about the Middle East.

SECRETARY POWELL: Okay.

QUESTION: There is a general sense in the Middle East that the roadmap concept is not going very far or very fast, particularly in light of the Israeli elections. Given the importance that this has to the Arab world to reach some solution on the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly with the looming confrontation with Iraq, how personally are you going to get involved in trying to move this process forward to bring some hope to that region?

SECRETARY POWELL: We are still working hard on the roadmap, and the next opportunity to put energy behind it will be on the 20th of December, when I will be chairing the Quartet meeting in Washington, and bringing the Quartet parties together, the United Nations, the EU, the Russian Federation and myself. Bill Burns, as you know, has been out in the region, as have David Satterfield and others, getting input to the roadmap.

The reality -- the political situation, though -- is that Israel is now deeply involved in an election process, primary elections for the Likud party this Thursday, I believe it is, 28, or whatever date it is. And we are going to have a period of time here, while they are sorting out who should be the next prime minister of Israel, and we will not just sit back idly. We will continue to prove the roadmap, have it ready, talk to all of the parties, continue to stay engaged, and then wait to see where we are early in the new year, with the new Israeli government.

QUESTION: I know that there is a big story, on North Korea. Has anything developed on the North Korea stories that are even more damaging stories coming out about Pakistan's involvement? What have you done to follow up on this?

SECRETARY POWELL: On the problem of enriched uranium, you know what we have been doing, and you have seen the North Korean response. It was a subject of discussion between President Bush and President Putin last week, and President Bush and just about all the other leaders he spoke to. But I think there is a unified front that says North Korea has to give up this kind of capability if it intends to have good relations with the EU, with its neighbors, with the United States. We will continue to press that point. We are doing it in a way that keeps our friends fully involved and informed and, in fact, our friends are in the lead on this right now, the Japanese and the South Koreans and hopefully the Chinese and the Russians.

With respect to, I think, one story yesterday by David Sanger about Pakistan and North Korea. I have nothing to add to that. I'm not sure of the reference that he was making, and looking into that, I can say to you that in my conversations with President Musharraf in the recent months, I have made it clear to him that any, any sort of contact between Pakistan and North Korea we believe would be improper, inappropriate and would have consequences. And he has assured me on more than one occasion that there are no further contacts and he guarantees that there are no contacts of the kind that were referred to in the article.

QUESTION: Just a follow-up on that -- if he is not telling you the way it is, what are your choices? You need Pakistan that much, so what kind of consequences?

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, consequences are consequences and they become facts once they are no longer consequences. (Laughter.) That works. (Laughter.) It works. No, President Musharraf understands the seriousness of this issue and we've talked about it face-to-face, we have talked about on the telephone. And whenever, you know, whenever he and I communicate with each other, I reinforce the point and there are laws that apply and we will obey the law. But I can't tell you what a consequence might be in the absence of a factual situation.

QUESTION: When was the last time you raised the point with President Musharraf? Was it the at four-hundred-percent time?

SECRETARY POWELL: I've talked to him in that sense then; it's one of the things we usually touch on in our conversations. The four-hundred-percent line was about two or three phone calls back; it was in the major item in some controlled phone calls; just want to make sure there was no confusion because there were some stories folding around that, too. It's a story that comes up with some regularity.

QUESTION: Just to follow up on that, there's some talk in Congress that sanctions should be applied on to Pakistan because of their role in North Korea's program. Could you talk a little bit about what the State Department is doing to follow up on that? Are there, is there an investigation going on and will there be an end point with the decision on sanctions?

SECRETARY POWELL: An investigation of what?

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

SECRETARY POWELL: I asked the President. I mean we, yeah. Right now, I have nothing presently that was reported to me that I need to be looking at and I'll repeat the assurances that he's given .... I don't know of anything, as I've been going out of the department, that is relevant to any sanctions discussion with Congress.

QUESTION: Would it be correct to say that the last time such a transaction took place was July between Pakistan and North Korea?

SECRETARY POWELL: I can't comment on that. I don't, you know, I can't start opposing sanctions on the base of a story. I can't confirm or comment on David's story. I just don't know. I don't know what the sources are, I don't know if it's accurate or not, I haven't chased it down, I can't answer your question.

QUESTION: It's been written in several occasions -- (inaudible).

SECRETARY POWELL: It may have been. I don't have that.

QUESTION: Yeah, thank you. The first lot of inspectors that are going into Iraq today: can you say how you feel about that and can you say what role the U.S. is playing in this first tranche going in and what we're going to be doing?

SECRETARY POWELL: There'll be a period of time that it'll take them to set up monitoring devices, put in place communications, transportation arrangements and we are doing everything we can to be helpful to Dr. Blix and Dr. El Baradei in a number of ways -- advice, assistance, and respecting their independence and the integrity of the process, but I don't have anything specific with respect to the first group that you described going in.

We are now focusing on the 8th of December when the declaration is due. And the letter they sent over the weekend was certainly not indicative of a cooperative attitude on their part.

QUESTION: A follow-up on the water question -- you said that it was your hope that they would let you know by mid-December; have they said anything so far that would lead you to expect that you would actually have something for them by then?

SECRETARY POWELL: I've heard nothing so far that I would find encouraging, but we'll see when we have our conversations tomorrow. It's a tough issue and there was an agreement -- (inaudible) -- earlier in the summer that you're familiar with that released some 90,000 acre-feet, I believe it was, but a lot more is due to the United States from the Rio Grande on the basis of the treaty. There's a difference of opinion as to whether this obligation could be rolled over into the next five-year tranche, but at the same time we are meeting our obligations in providing water in [regard to the] Colorado River and so we feel equity is appropriate here and it will be a strong message that we provide to the Foreign Secretary and his colleagues tomorrow.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Thank you, sir.

(end transcript)

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