<i> A look at noteworthy addresses in the Southland.</i>

Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen spoke before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council on Tuesday. From his remarks: On the North American Free Trade Agreement “Our efforts to increase trade--with Mexico, with Asia and the Pacific--are part of an effort to deal directly with our economic problems. They also represent our recognition of . . . our response to the fact that while security issues were the overriding factor during the Cold War years, now the economic dimension is paramount.

”. . . We’re looking to America’s long-term economic health. . . . It’s not going to change in six weeks or six months, but if we work together, we’ll make a major difference a year from now, two years, three years from now. And these problems can stay fixed.

”. . . NAFTA is a good agreement, but because we wanted to make it even better, our negotiators have worked out supplemental agreements on labor issues, on how to deal with import surges and on the crucial issue of the environment.

”. . . What will NAFTA give us? . . . NAFTA will generate about 200,000 additional U.S. jobs in the next two years alone. We estimate that NAFTA-related jobs will pay 12% more.

”. . . Organized labor and others have some sincere concerns that NAFTA may cost jobs here in America. The point here is that jobs can go south to Mexico now, or the Far East, or anywhere. That’s the effect of global competition, not NAFTA. . . . For those who are affected by NAFTA, we have job-retraining programs. We want everyone to benefit from NAFTA and the prosperity it’s going to bring.

“There is another dimension to the case for NAFTA. Take it from a Texan. . . . I know about the illegal immigration problem. NAFTA is going to help raise living standards in Mexico, which will reduce the economic incentive to cross the border illegally and put demands on our public services. And a higher standard of living in Mexico means they will be buying more U.S. goods and creating more jobs here.

“Finally, failing to adopt NAFTA could have serious international repercussions. It could damage our ability to cooperate on a variety of issues with Mexico and throughout Latin America. That’s not to mention how our ability to reach trade agreements elsewhere could be affected.”

Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, Saudi ambassador to the United States, addressed the International Road Federation in Laguna Niguel on Thursday. From his remarks:

On Islam and the West “For over 1,400 years, the Western world and the Muslim world have been neighboring civilizations.

“Relations between the two have had their ups and downs, as neighborhoods do. Misperceptions and mutually damaging stereotypes have unfortunately accumulated among some on both sides.

”. . . Unfortunately, there have been attempts in the last several years to replace the Cold War threat with a so-called Islamic threat.

”. . . Media coverage and serious public discussion here are out of focus when they use the label of ‘Islamic Fundamentalists’ as to the various violence-prone groups currently causing trouble in parts of the Middle East and elsewhere.

“With their blatant extremism, such groups are actually doing violence to basic Islamic teachings--and certainly to Islam’s good name. What they are really concerned with most is not Islam, but economic and other grievances, or more often, dead-end power for themselves.

“But please keep in perspective that these extremists are a very small fraction of the overall Islamic community. They are not at all in the historical or present Muslim mainstream.

”. . . The West has often charged Islam with being too conservative, too traditional. Yet at the same time, and especially recently, the Western media splashes its headlines with catch-phrases like ‘Islamic Extremism’ and ‘Islamic Radicalism,’ as though that is mostly what is to be seen and communicated.

“But Islam cannot be viewed as both too traditional and too radical. I respectfully urge what is happening here is an inability to see what the mainstream of Islam is all about.

“As a Muslim, I want to emphasize that the overwhelming preponderance of Muslims are deeply and peacefully committed in their faith.

“Islam means peace and the giving--the surrendering--of one’s self to the Almighty, the same One God believed in by Christians, Jews and Muslims. . . . Islam urges balance, compassion, patience and knowledge.”

Announcements concerning prominent speakers in Los Angeles should be sent to Speaking Up, c/o Times researcher Nona Yates, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053