President-elect Hipólito Mejía left yesterday for a four-day trip to the US and a six-day trip to Europe. His European trip includes a visit with President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Leonel Jospin in France. His US itinerary is as follows: Sunday, 18 June 9:20 am. Departure to Washington, D.C. with a stopover in Miami. 3:40 pm. Arrival to Washington. 7:30 pm. Reception in his honor given by the PRD in Washington. Monday, 19 June 7:30 am. Breakfast at the Madison Hotel with retired Ambassador Michael Skol. 9 am. Arrival to the Interamerican Defense College (IADC) 9:45 am. Tour of Fort McNair on the way to the Coast Guard headquarters. 10 am. Meeting with Admiral James. M. Loy, commander of the US Coast Guard. Mejía will be accompanied by US Ambassador Charles Manatt. 11 am. Visit to the National Defense University’s Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies. There he will meet the university director, and will give a talk for students and professors. 12:30 pm. Arrival to the Center for Strategic International Studies. Presentation by Howard Wiarda, political science professor of the University of Massachusetts. 2:30 pm. Arrival to the White House. Meeting with former governor of Florida, Kennedy McKay, President Bill Clinton’s Special Envoy for the Americas. He will also meet with Dominican Ambassador in Washington Saladín. 4:30 pm. Private meeting with the president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn. 5 pm. Presentation of a conference at the World Bank. Mejia will speak at a reception. 7 pm. Dinner offered by Ambassador Saladin in his residence 20 June 8:30 am. Working breakfast with members of the US Congress at the residence of Ambassador Saladin. 10 am. Visit to the Department of Agriculture 11:15 am. Visit to the Overseas Private Investment Cooperation 2:30 pm. Visit to the USAID, meeting with J. Brady Anderson. 5 pm. Department for the Interamerican Dialogue. Round table moderated by Peter Hakim, president of that organization. 8 pm. Dinner at the residence of General Sóto Jiménez, military attache at the Washington, D.C. embassy and said to be the next Minister of the Armed Forces of the DR. 8:30 am Visit to the Department of State, to meet with Peter Romero, Deputy Secretary of State for Hemispheric Affairs 10 am. Visit to the Office of the US Trade Representative. 11:30 am Visit with Enrique Iglesias, president of the Interamerican Development Bank. 1 pm. Lunch at the IADB. 3 pm. Cocktail offered by the Strategy Group for the Dominican mission. On his trip, Mejía will be accompanied by his wife Rosa Gómez. Others on his committee are Hugo Tolentino Dipp, whom he has announced will be the next Minister of Foreign Relations; General José Miguel Soto Jiménez, whom it is said will be the next Minister of the Armed Forces; retired Admiral Ramón Emilio Jiménez, a former Minister of Foreign Relations; Caros Guzmán, Frank Guerrero Prats, who is the top-ranking economic officer of his team, and Hector Santos.
