UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION

Sir:

         I am happy to convey the congratulations of the Government of Panama on the occasion of the bicentennial of the founding of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. In the two hundred years following its establishment, to be celebrated on 16th March, the Military Academy at West Point has acquired international renown on the basis of academic excellence and the important values it has instilled on the thousands of men and women that have attended the Academy's campus, including distinguished citizens of the Republic of Panama which have contributed positively to the development of our Nation.

         In the context of such a significant commemoration, I am pleased to refer to the close relationship between the Military Academy at West Point and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, an organization that has participated with distinction in the building and maintenance of the Panama Canal. The Army Corps of Engineers, whose stationing at West Point in 1802 served as a stepping stone for the establishment of the United States Military Academy in 1802, successfully concluded the construction of the Panama Canal between 1907 and 1914. This achievement took place under the exceptional leadership of General George W. Goethals, a prominent graduate of West Point in 1880.

         Almost a century later, the Army Corps of Engineers continues to provide valuable support to the Panama Canal, particularly to its modernization program. The expertise applied by the Army Corps of Engineers as well as other Panamanian and foreign organizations towards the waterway's modernization will contribute to ensure that our Canal will meet projected traffic demand and maintain, in the long term, the quality of its services.

         Please accept the best wishes of my Government and my personal regards.

//signed//

MIREYA MOSCOSO
President

Lieutenant General
WILLIAM J. LENNOX, JR.
Superintendent
United States Military Academy
West Point, New York