 Looks like Costa Rica Ladies and gentlemen I am delighted to welcome President Monque to Costa Rica Costa Rica is an old and valued friend of the United States Its dramatic tradition has made that country a natural partner of the United States in the Caribbean and in fact in the whole hemisphere Our meeting is in keeping with my policy of working very closely with our Democratic friends in this hemisphere And I most appreciated the President's views on his country's prospects and problems I personally pledged my administration support for Costa Rica's efforts at economic recovery And I'm also deeply appreciative of the President's strong support for the Caribbean Basin Initiative And understand that he's going to make that support known to our Congress We discussed the prospects for democracy in the region We noted that fair and free elections have been held this year in his own country, Costa Rica and Colombia Where they've long been a tradition and Honduras, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic as well We've also discussed the threat to this welcome development by forces of the extreme right and the extreme left The latter aided and abetted by Nicaragua and Cuba We candidly assessed the inter-American system in light of the recent conflict in the South Atlantic We agreed that the system and its ability to respond to threats to the peace must be strengthened And that this required our urgent attention And finally let me say again, it's been my great pleasure in meeting and talking with you, Mr. President I look forward to our working together in the common problems that face us in this hemisphere And it's a pleasure to welcome you to a meeting I have expressed my deep appreciation to President Reagan for this invitation to come here in representation of the government and the people of Costa Rica And I pointed out in my words of appreciation to the President that this was a great indication of the sympathy and the support for Costa Rican democracy That is the fact that this invitation was extended to me the very day that I took office this past May 8th I have had the privilege to come to reiterate and to ratify an alliance of all our country with the United States of North America A small democracy without an army has always been a sincere ally of the great power that the United States of North America is And so this small democracy without an army has always been a sincere ally of this great power called the United States of America Because we have always identified with the ideals and the conceptions of freedom and justice in favor of the peoples of the land And so this small democracy without an army has always been a sincere ally of this great power called the United States of America Because we have always identified with the ideals and the conceptions of freedom of justice and good for the good of all the peoples throughout the earth And so this alliance has become a matter of great importance for our countries throughout the past but never more than now in this dramatic occasion It is its importance is a really dramatic significance because we are caught in a pincer now that is the democratic forces between the extremes of political thinking Now more than ever before I have conveyed to President Reagan the harsh realities of our present economic and social crisis and the true information as to the fact that there is indeed a massive offensive on the part of totalitarian Marxism-Leninism in the area of Central America and the Caribbean To overcome the economic problems and the social injustices we have gone through To preserve in peace the democratic base that represents Costa Rica At the present time and in order to preserve peace in peace this democratic base which is Costa Rica Against poverty for social justice for economic growth I believe that for hard and difficult circumstances we have gone through and so I have expressed to President Reagan I am optimistic At the end of the day they will continue to have validity in the consciousness of our peoples The common ideals of freedom of justice and of peace that they defend since always the peoples of the United States and the people of Costa Rica And so I confirm that in order to defend democracy there is something that is one of my deep convictions that in order to defend democracy the best tool we have in this unceasing struggle Is an unceasing struggle against poverty a struggle in favor of social justice a struggle for economic growth And I believe that no matter how harsh or difficult the circumstances may be that we as I told President Reagan feel optimistic And I think that at the end of the day that the validity of these concepts and the consciousness of our peoples will be intact That is these shared ideals of freedom of justice and of peace that have always been defended by the people of the United States and the people of Costa Rica Thank you very much President Reagan for accepting the ratification of this alliance of the small Costa Rica with the powerful United States To continue fighting for freedom and for justice in favor of our peoples And thank you very much President Reagan for having accepted my ratification of this alliance between tiny Costa Rica and the powerful United States For the continuation of this struggle for freedom and justice for the good of our peoples