Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	CITY HALL, MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	02/10/97 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF 
			THE KEY TO THE CITY TO THE 
			PRIME MINISTER 



   1.    Thank you for honouring me today with the key to this
  beautiful  and historic city.  I will cherish  this  honour
  and  it  will  be  to  me a symbol of  the  friendship  and
  cordiality  of  the  Uruguayan people  and  especially  the
  people of this city.
  
  2.    Capital cities have a unique role to play in national
  development.   They  can  act as catalysts  and  a  testing
  ground  for  national change.  They can act as magnets  for
  new  ideas and they often generate enthusiasm and hope that
  touches  the whole nation.  In the short time that  I  have
  been  here I have sensed that this is a city eager to  push
  ahead,   eager   to   take  on  the   challenges   of   new
  technologies, eager to exploit its central location in  the
  MERCOSUR and eager to attract foreign investment.
  
  3.    As you are aware, I have come to Uruguay with a large
  delegation   of   Malaysian  business  leaders.    I   feel
  confident that they will leave Uruguay with a keener  sense
  of  the attractiveness and business potential of this city.
  They  would  also have established important  new  contacts
  with  the business leaders of this city.  It is my  sincere
  hope  that  this  will soon lead to new business  ventures,
  enhanced trade and economic co-operation.
  
  4.    As politicians we all have an obligation to encourage
  such co-operation because it can make a real difference  in
  the  lives  of the people we serve.  I want to  assure  you
  therefore  that  I  will personally encourage  and  support
  private  sector co-operation and involvement  with  Uruguay
  and particularly with the city of Montevideo.
  
  5.    Apart from trade and investment, there are also other
  avenues  for  co-operation.  We can share  experience.   We
  can  learn from each other.  In this context Mr.  Mayor,  I
  wish  to  inform  you  that  Malaysia  would  be  happy  to
  cooperate   with  the  city  administration   and   provide
  training  in  a  number of fields of  relevance  under  the
  Malaysia  Technical Cooperation Programme.   I  would  also
  like to extend an invitation to you and your colleagues  to
  visit  Malaysia  and our capital city to  see  how  we  can
  further develop a mutually beneficial programme.
  
  6.    Thank you once again for honouring me with the key to
  the city of Montevideo.