For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 12, 2004
Statement by President
The United States welcomes Panama's signing today of a
ship-boarding agreement that supports the efforts of the Proliferation
Security Initiative (PSI) to stop the trade in deadly weapons and
materials.
The agreement establishes streamlined procedures for American
officials to request and board ships registered to Panama if those
ships are suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction, their
delivery systems, or related materials. More ships sail under the
Panamanian flag than that of any other nation. This agreement sends a
strong signal to proliferators that the free nations of the world are
determined to protect their people and preserve the peace.
This is the second bilateral ship-boarding agreement signed to
support PSI. The United States and the Government of Liberia signed a
similar agreement on February 11, 2004. Together, Panama and Liberia
account for roughly 30 percent of the world's commercial shipping
tonnage. We welcome this historic decision by the Government of
Panama. And we urge other nations with large commercial shipping
registries to follow the lead of Panama and Liberia to make a stand
against proliferation.
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