(29 Dec 2006) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of visiting US senators arriving at the Presidential Palace
2. Medium of senators entering presidential palace
3. Medium of Senator Harry Reid shaking hands with Bolivian President Evo Morales along with other members of the delegation
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Harry Reid, US Senator (Democrat - Nevada):
"We are hopeful that the message that we take back to Washington, and we are confident that the message that we are going to take back to Washington isn't a partisan one. We're here as Democrats and Republicans, to have North America appreciate the potential of this mighty little country."
5. Wide of delegation exiting room
STORYLINE
The United States needs to seek a better relationship with Bolivia, according to incoming United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who led a delegation of six senators to the Bolivian capital La Paz on Thursday.
In a news conference after meeting leftist leader President Evo Morales, Reid said it was not by accident that he chose Bolivia as the first country to visit in his new role.
"I came to Bolivia because I felt that our country and Bolivia need to have a better relationship," Reid said. "We're here as Democrats and Republicans to help North America appreciate the potential of this mighty little country."
Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said that Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, had been elected democratically.
He added that while not everyone was pleased with the outcome, that was the way elections were ... "just like ours of 7 November" - a reference to the US midterm elections in which Reid's Democratic Party retook both houses of the US Congress.
Joining Reid and Salazar were incoming Majority Whip Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois; Senator Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota; Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire and Senator Robert Bennett, a Republican from Utah.
US ties to Bolivia have been tense recently, partly due to Morales' friendship with Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, as well as by Morales' background as the leader of coca growers fighting US attempts to eradicate their crops.
Morales announced earlier this month that he would seek to significantly expand the area for legally allowed cultivation of coca, which although commonly used as a mild stimulant in Bolivia is also processed into cocaine.
The statement drew sharp criticism from Washington, which has strenuously objected to any increase in coca production, but the two nations this month signed an agreement guaranteeing 34 (m) million US dollars (euro 26 (m) million) in anti-narcotics aid for next year.
Reid said on Thursday, after visits with both US and Bolivian officials, that the Andean country was "moving forward" in its fight against drug trafficking.
Like Chavez in Venezuela, Morales has railed against American foreign policy and occasionally accused the Bush administration of plotting to overthrow his government or even assassinate him.
The US delegation travels to Ecuador next where it will meet with populist President-elect Rafael Correa on Saturday, followed by a trip to Peru for talks with with centre-left President Alan Garcia on 2 January.
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