Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/backgrd/el_salva.bkh

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BACKGROUND NOTES:  EL SALVADOR (CONTINUED)
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
NOVEMBER 1994

Official Name:  Republic of El Salvador

FOREIGN RELATIONS

El Salvador is a member of the United Nations and several of its
specialized agencies; the Organization of American States (OAS); the
CACM; the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN); and the SICA.  It
actively participates in the Central American Security Commission
(CASC), which seeks to promote regional arms control.  As noted, El
Salvador also is a member of GATT and is pursuing regional free trade
agreements.

In July 1969, El Salvador and Honduras fought the brief "Soccer War"
over disputed border areas and friction resulting from the 300,000
Salvadorans who had emigrated to Honduras in search of land and
employment.  The catalyst was nationalistic feelings aroused by a series
of soccer matches between the two countries.  In the course of the war,
Salvadoran forces penetrated as far as 18 miles into Honduras.  The two
countries formally signed a peace treaty on October 30, 1980, which put
the border dispute before the International Court of Justice.  In
September 1992, the court issued a 400-page ruling, awarding much of the
disputed land to Honduras.  El Salvadoran-Honduran diplomatic relations
now are normal, as are trade relations.

El Salvador has played a constructive and activist role in the
Esquipulas process, the regional effort to promote peace in Central
America.  The Government of El Salvador is firmly committed to a
comprehensive agreement linking guarantees of security among the Central
American countries to national reconciliation through democratization
within each country.

El Salvador strongly backed efforts by the United States to implement UN
Security Council Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of
Haiti's de facto authorities from power.


U.S.-SALVADORAN RELATIONS

U.S.-Salvadoran relations traditionally have been cordial and have
become very close as a result of substantial U.S. aid in the 1980s as
well as a growing population of Salvadorans in the United States.  U.S.
policy toward El Salvador seeks to promote:


--  The complete implementation of the peace accords;

--  The strengthening of El Salvador's democratic institutions, rule of
law, judicial reform, and civilian police;

--  National reconciliation and a complete end to political violence;

--  National reconstruction, economic opportunity, and growth; and

--  Support for the regional security objectives embodied in the
Esquipulas II agreement.

In FY 1993, U.S. Government assistance to El Salvador was about $181
million, including $30 million of PL-480.  The international community's
March 1993 pledge of $800 million for reconstruction in El Salvador
included $225 million in loans from the Inter-American Development Bank
for electricity generation and private sector investment.  For FY 1994,
total U.S. assistance was about $82 million, a reduction due to
declining U.S. aid levels worldwide and increasing commitments to other
countries.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Alan H. Flanigan
Deputy Chief of Mission--Gwen Clare

The U.S. embassy in El Salvador is located at Final Blvd., Santa Elena,
Antiguo Cuscatlan, San Salvador  (tel.:  [phone]; fax:  503-278-
6011).

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