PGMA's Opening Statement during the Joint Press Conference with U.S. Pres. George W. Bush |
East Room, The White House Washington D.C., U.S.A. - (19 May 2003) |
| Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you once again for inviting me on this state visit. As I said earlier, this shows how warm is the relationship between our two countries. We have become closer because of the war on terror but our closeness is really rooted in our deep and long shared history. We became closer with the war on terror because the Philippines is one of the first countries to join this war on terror. And the reason why we did it is that we, in the Philippines, know what it is to suffer from the hands of terrorism. We know the pain of terrorism. And we are with you in your leadership against terrorism wherever it may be found. There may be others whom i feel timid or hostile about U.S.. leadership in the war against terrorism. We believe that U.S. leadership and engagement with the U.S. makes the world a safer place for all of us to live in. But this trip is not just about terrorism, it's about fighting poverty. Poverty and terrorism are twin evils that we must fight. For the Philippines, we consider the U.S. a strategic partner not only in security matters but also in the economy, in the fight against poverty. I appreciate the support president bush has announced with regard to our security assistance and also with regard to our economic assistance and economic cooperation with each other. And in other meetings that we will be having with American officials, with multilateral agencies that are based in Washington D.C., and with the U.S. private sector. There will be other developments related to this visit that I'm sure will enhance our relationship with each other even more. There's been a lot of work in preparation for this state visit. I was supposed to come earlier. I was supposed to be here last March, and we've been working on what we can have together in this state visit. But because we postponed it and we did not know the date of the state visit because we didn't know the timetable for the war, there were many things that America already helped us with in preparation for this state visit even without a date. So, I'd like to thank you, President Bush for what we have been able to achieve before the state visit, what we are achieving in this state visit, and what we will be achieving afterwards because of the deeper relationship that we have entered into culminated in this wonderful visit of ours to your country. Thank you. |