For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 14, 2002
Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Chretien in Photo Opportunity
Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Chretien in Photo Opportunity
The Colonnade
PRESIDENT BUSH: It's my honor to welcome the Prime
Minister of Canada, a personal friend and a great friend of America,
back to the White House. We had a wide-ranging discussion on
a lot of topics, starting with how appreciative I am of his steadfast
support and the Canadian government's steadfast support and the
Canadian people's steadfast support in our war against
terror. We know the Canadians have put troops on the ground
in Afghanistan and they have performed brilliantly. For
that, we are grateful.
We also talked about our border. We've got a great
relationship on our border. We've had a series of meaningful
discussions on putting reforms in place. I believe our
border cooperation is going to be a model for not only our hemisphere,
but also for the world.
We also talked about trade issues. Canada is a massive
trading partner with the United States, and it's an important trading
partner of the United States. And like any relationship that
has got a lot of issues, sometimes we run into rough
spots. And one such issue is softwood lumber. But our
negotiators, as a result of the Prime Minister's assistance and my
assistance, are working overtime to achieve and agreement by March the
21st. We're making very good progress. And we've
agreed to keep working hard to achieve an agreement that is
satisfactory to both parties. And I believe we can achieve
that.
So, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much for
coming. Oh, by the way, we talked energy. It's
important for the American people to know that as a result of our trade
agreements with Canada and our close relations, Canada is a significant
supplier of energy to the United States. And that's
positive. It's much better for us to be securing our energy
from a friend, and a stable friend, and a partner.
And so I appreciate the Canadian energy business. I
appreciate the exploration that's going on. It is good for
our economy. I shared with the Prime Minister I'm optimistic
about our economy. We've still got some rough spots, but it
looks like we may be improving. And if we are, that will be
good news for both of us.
So, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome back. It is my honor to
serve you dinner again and it's a thrill to be with you.
PRIME MINISTER CHRETIEN: Thank you, Mr.
President. I cannot add to what the President
said. He covered the ground very well. I think
the relations between America and Canada could not be
better. We are solving problems, when we have one. We are
working with America in the war against terrorism. Our
troops are in the fight at this moment in Afghanistan. You
know, in the snow, we're good at it, President, you
know. And we --
PRESIDENT BUSH: You're good on the ice,
too. (Laughter.)
PRIME MINISTER CHRETIEN: We are good on the ice,
too. And both men and
women -- (laughter.) And
so -- and we have to work on our other
problems. Thank you for the statement you made on softwood
lumber. I think that the defense of our values and against
terrorism are extremely important for Canadians. And we have
worked very well together.
For me, I should say a few words in French, with your
permission. Can you translate after
that? (Laughter.)
(Speaks in French. Continues in English.) I
want to tell you that we spoke about Africa and I want to
say -- I said that in
French -- I want to say thank you for what you
have announced today about the programs that you have announced,
because as you know, at Kananaskis in Canada, the G-8, the main topic
will be Africa. And we want to establish a partnership with
them. They came to Genoa last
June -- you and our colleagues asked me to
take -- at that time. And I think that
the partnership, and with your contribution, is developing very well.
Next month I will be traveling in Africa
for -- visiting five or six countries, to build a
partnership, but to reward good governance, human rights, to make sure
that they have real democracies and so on. And those who
don't do that will have to -- not to be rewarded,
because it will not meet what the world wants.
So thank you again, Mr. President.
For the press, I will take questions after my
dinner. Thank you.