President Bush and President Vázquez of Uruguay Participate

March 10, 2007,11:53 A.M. (Local),PRESIDENT VÁZQUEZ: (As translated.) Mr. President of the United States of America, Madam Secretary of State, members of the delegation¹ visiting us, the Minister of State, the Ambassador of the United States of America in Uruguay, the Ambassador of Uruguay in the United States of America, ladies and gentlemen journalists., Mr. President, I would like to welcome you together with the very prestigious² delegation that is with you. Mr. President, you represent a people that is a friend of the Uruguayan people. We have historical and friendly relations uniting these two countries, these two peoples. These are firm, respectful relations with solidarity³.,In this sense, I would like to give an example with two elements which I think are of significance. First of all, Mr. President, thousands of Uruguayan citizens live in the United States of America and have found in that country a standard of living that they did not have in our country and that forced them to migrate. They bettered themselves there, they have their own families, their work, they have studied, they have health and education for their children. Therefore, this is a very clear element of what the United States people have given to the Uruguayan people.,Undoubtedly⁴, there are many Uruguayans who are waiting, pending⁵ legalization of the situation in this country, but I believe your solidarity will help our citizens to be able to live legally in your country.,And the second example I would like to mention is something that we Uruguayans recall very well. When we underwent the most severe economic crisis of our history, where Uruguay was living a very moving and very serious condition, your country, and you, in particular, Mr. President, gave us a hand to help Uruguay to leave that situation in which it was and fought for a way to recovery that we are now trying to consolidate⁶.,Sixteen years ago another President of the United States visited our country -- it was 5 December 1990, and this President was your father. At that time I was the mayor of the city of Montevideo, and I handed him the keys of the city of Montevideo. We had a brief exchange with President Bush, your father, and I recall a statement: "Let us," he said, "leave aside our differences, as we do have certain differences, and let us follow the path of agreement and coincidences that we also have." The defense⁷ of democracy as an organization and as a functioning of our societies, but rather as a style of life; the defense of freedoms and the determined⁸ struggle to improve the standards of living of our people, giving them work, education and health, are common elements that permit us to think that we may continue working beyond our differences, Mr. President.,With these words I would like to say that the path we have followed and the dialogue we had today with the President of the United States is precisely⁹ this one: to try and increase our trade exchanges, the possibility of placing the fruits of our worker in the markets of the United States of America; try and increase the scientific, technological¹⁰, cultural exchange with our brother country, and see how together we may have a better standard of living for our people., Mr. President, members of the U.S. delegation, I hope you may feel at home here. Most welcome.,PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, Mr. President. I feel very much at home. You know, it's -- in my state of Texas, when you invite somebody to your estancia, it's a sign of respect. And I thank you very much for this warm gesture of hospitality, but after all, you are Tejano. (Laughter.),We've had -- this is our second meaningful dialogue. I remember so well your visit to the Oval Office. You were very articulate about your desire to improve the lives of all people in your country. I was impressed then by your compassion¹¹ and your care.,I was expecting to see a beautiful country when I came here, and that is precisely what I have seen. Your capital city is magnificent. The architecture is really beautiful. And then, of course, we come up to this beautiful place that is so peaceful, and reminds me of the great natural resources that your country has.,We discussed a lot of subjects. First of all, Mr. President, I completely agree with the spirit of our conversations, that we will find common ground and we will advance that common ground for the benefit of our respective peoples.,One place we have common ground is the respect for human rights and human dignity, respect for rule of law; we welcome a free press -- most of the time. (Laughter.) No, all the time. We honor elections. And Uruguay is a strong example of the stability that can come with democracy. But you also recognize that which I recognize, that you can't take democracy for granted, that the people have to see tangible¹² benefits.,And so on my trip to South America and Central America, I want to remind people that the United States and its compassionate¹³ people care deeply about issues such as education and health, issues that you're concerned about. We spent a lot of time talking about education, and I suspect most Americans don't know that we're actively¹⁴ involved in helping¹⁵ the President institute a program for youngsters to become more literate¹⁶, particularly in English. We want to continue helping., We spent time talking about how we can exchange students in a more -- in a better way. We talked about exchanging ideas, that our experts sit down at the same table to discuss issues such as alternative fuels. In my trip to Brazil yesterday we spent time talking about alternative fuels and the need for the United States and Brazil to work together -- it's the same conversation we had in Uruguay.,We talked about the fact that -- or at least I talked about the fact -- the President is a modest man, but I talked about the fact that the Uruguayan economy is growing at -- estimated at 7 percent. And I congratulate you, sir, on creating the conditions so that people feel comfortable making investments that cause economies to grow, and that we want to work together to continue to advance the progress we have made on trade and investment at a pace that both our peoples will be comfortable with.,I want to thank you very much for your commitment to democracy and peace in our neighborhood. I congratulate you and the people of Uruguay for providing peacekeepers to Haiti and to the Congo. It is a gesture of a strong nation to reach out to help others realize the benefits of a free society. And you've sent a strong and powerful message.,Finally, I do want to say something about immigration in the United States. The President has spoken eloquently¹⁷ to me about the need for there to be a immigration policy that upholds the values of America. I explained to him that it is my interest to get a comprehensive immigration bill out of the United States Congress as soon as possible. I look forward to working with both Republicans and Democrats¹⁸, Mr. President, to do what is right to uphold the laws of the United States, but at the same time, recognize that, on the one hand, we can't grant automatic citizenship¹⁹, nor on the other hand, can we kick people out. And so, therefore, there's got to be a rational way forward.,And I pledge to you, as a man who is concerned about people from your country that may be living in the United States, that I will work as hard as I can to have a compassionate and rational immigration law that respects the rule of law, but also respects the great traditions of the United States, a tradition which is a welcoming society; a tradition that says that we welcome our diversity because we believe in our diversity we can find the strength of our nation.,And so I've been -- I'm really looking forward to this trip. I'm especially looking forward to the asado. I appreciate the -- I appreciate your willingness to cook some Uruguayan beef. You've told me all along how good it is, and after we answer a few questions, we're about to find out.,So, Mr. President, thank you for your hospitality.,Q My question is addressed to President George Bush. Bearing in mind the regional context governed by Presidents such as Vázquez or Chavez, especially, what similarities and what differences do you find amongst them? And what is your opinion about President Vázquez and Uruguay?,PRESIDENT BUSH: The temptation is to try to get people to talk about their differences. I want to talk about our commonalities. We share respect for each other. We respect our countries, we respect our history and traditions, and we share a great respect for a government that -- where the people decide who's in charge.,Interestingly enough, we both have gotten rid of colonial powers in our past, and it is -- I think it is that heritage that makes Uruguay and the United States such natural partners. We talk about the need to invest and to grow economies through investment. That's a common ground that leads to a positive relationship.,We both recognize that education is vital for the success of our respective countries. When we find illiteracy²⁰ in the United States, that's where we find poverty, oftentimes. And, therefore, education policy is focused on improving the lives of all by giving people the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century.,I think many people in my country don't know that Uruguay is the leading exporter of software in South America. It means that one of the great assets of this country is the brain power of the country. Oftentimes when you think of a country like Uruguay, you think of natural resources -- fantastic farms, a lot of cows, and lambs, and blueberries -- which, by the way, came up today in our conversation. But I think it is hopeful for both our countries to know that a friend is a leading exporter of something that requires the ingenuity²¹ and brainpower of its citizens. And so we find common ground there as to how to work together.,This is a -- I would call this meeting very constructive²² and very hopeful and very positive. And the reason why is because we've got so much in common. There's a lot more that unites us than divides us, Mr. President, and I appreciate the chance to visit with you.,Tony.,Q President Bush --,PRESIDENT BUSH: Bret Baier. So the guy -- I'm 60 years old and he thinks I can't hear. (Laughter.),Q Sorry about that. Mr. President, the FBI acknowledged that some agents used post-9/11 powers to demand personal information on Americans. What do you say to people who are concerned about the use of these national security letters? And in the wake of how these letters were used, do you still have confidence in Attorney General Gonzales and FBI Director Mueller?,PRESIDENT BUSH: I was briefed by the Attorney General and the Director of the FBI on this subject last week. We spent a lot of time talking about the IG report. First of all, I want to compliment the IG for good and necessary work. They brought the findings of this good work to my attention. My question is, what are you going to do to solve the problem and how fast can you get it solved?