White House Fact Sheet on the Bolivia- and Peru-United States Public Awareness Measures Memorandums of Understanding

The United States signed two bilateral public awareness measures memorandums of understanding today in Cartagena, one with Bolivia and one with Peru. Secretary of State James A. Baker III signed both agreements on behalf of the United States. Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Iturralde signed on behalf of Bolivia. Guillermo Larco Cox, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, signed on behalf of Peru.

These understandings will promote concrete measures reflecting the Declaration of Cartagena's emphasis on the need to raise public awareness and support for the measures we need to take to combat drug trafficking and consumption by:

encouraging collaboration on initiatives to build public support for countering narcotics production, distribution, and use;

recognizing that cross-fertilization of ideas, experience, and activities are essential to the success of counternarcotics efforts;

encouraging parties to establish and share the International Narcotics Information Network (ININ), a computerized data base, so that antidrug activities can be made easily obtainable to those needing this information;

promoting joint cosponsorship of mass media projects that promote the sharing of information about drug problems and solutions in the four countries.

The United States is discussing the possibility of similar understandings with other countries.