*Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2017 *

**Remarks During a Meeting With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in Taormina, Italy **

*May 26, 2017 *

*President Trump. *Thank you very much. It's great to have Prime Minister Abe, a friend of mine and somebody—we've just developed a great relationship. And it's wonderful to have you here. We'll be discussing many things, including, of course, North Korea, which is very much on our minds. And we'll be discussing terrorism, but I think we will really be in particular focused on the North Korea problem. It's a big problem. It's a world problem. And it will be solved at some point. It will be solved. You can bet on that.* *

And I just want to thank you very much.

Prime Minister*. *

*Prime Minister Abe. *Donald, it's a great pleasure for me to see you again. There's one unfortunate thing that I have to confess: This time around, we won't be able to play golf together. [*Laughter*] And also, at the outset, I'd like to congratulate you on your successful visit to the Middle East region, as well as your participation in the NATO summit. And through your visit, I understand that you have demonstrated robust commitment to ensuring global security, and I highly value your commitment.

Of course, as you mentioned, we are going to talk about North Korean issues, but also, we are going to cover other various challenges of the international community. And on this occasion, I would like to reconfirm our close partnership as well as collaboration in addressing those other challenges.

*President Trump. *Well, I want to say that it is reconfirmed. It is a close partnership and collaboration and friendship. We've developed a great friendship. And I look forward to being with you, spending some time with you. And I'll be seeing you for today, and I'll be seeing you, I'm sure, many times over the years to come. And I look forward to that.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 10:36 a.m. at the Hotel Villa Diodoro. The transcript, prepared for immediate release by the Office of the Press Secretary, was received by the Office of the Federal Register on July 27. Prime Minister Abe spoke in Japanese, and his remarks were translated by an interpreter.

*Categories: *Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Japan, Prime Minister Abe.* *

*Locations: *Taormina, Italy.* *

*Names: *Abe, Shinzo.* *

*Subjects: *Italy : President Trump's visits; Japan : Prime Minister; Japan : Relations with U.S.; North Korea : International diplomatic efforts; Terrorism : Counterterrorism efforts.* *

*DCPD Number: DCPD201700536. *