Secretary Slater Announces Plan to Cooperate On Statistics with Mexican
Transportation Agency
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Contact |
BTS 14-00
Dave Smallen
202-366-5568
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Thursday, October 12, 2000 -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced an agreement
with the government of Mexico that will enhance both nations'
statistical capabilities and promote improved transportation statistics and
analysis.
"This agreement will further President Clinton and Vice President Gore's
vision of regional cooperation and a global transportation system for the 21st
century," Secretary Slater said. "We are taking a step beyond the many working relationships we have established in
implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with this new
partnership that will stand as a model for cooperation on statistics with other
nations in the future."
The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by Secretary Slater and Secretary
Carlos Ruiz Sacristan of the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of
Mexico. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) will be the lead agency in
the U.S. Department of Transportation on the statistical exchanges with Mexico.
"The growth in trade and passenger travel between the United States
and Mexico under NAFTA has created a greater need for more information about
transportation in our two countries and for more cooperation on transportation
statistics and analysis," Dr. Ashish
Sen, BTS Director, said. "We will be
working with our colleagues in Mexico to improve the information that is
available for transportation decision-making."
The agreement creates a Joint Working Group, which is scheduled to begin work
within 60 days. The two agencies are interested in cooperating through exchange
of experience in technical and scientific areas, exchange of observers and
staff, and coordination and planning to further ongoing work in the area of
North American transportation statistics and related initiatives.
In 1998, Secretary Slater hosted the Western Hemisphere Transportation
Ministerial in New Orleans at which a Ministerial Declaration recognized the
important role of transportation statistics and information, and during which
the ministers agreed to develop a Western Hemisphere Statistics System. Today's
agreement follows the creation of the North American Transportation Statistics
Interchange by the United States, Canada and Mexico and the development of the
North American Statistics project.
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