*Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2018 *

**Remarks Prior to a Meeting With President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and an Exchange With Reporters **

*January 16, 2018 *

*President Trump.* Well, thank you very much. It's great to have the highly respected President of Kazakhstan with us. We have a tremendous relationship in terms of economics. A lot of goods are being purchased from our country, meaning jobs—General Electric, Boeing. Tremendous amounts of money.

Kazakhstan is doing very well. They're really—they've turned things around. They have a lot of advantages over some nations, frankly, and they have some tough situations. But the President is highly respected and has done a great, great job. And it's an honor to be with you.

We were together in Saudi Arabia, developed an immediate relationship, and it's really terrific what you've done. And thank you for being here.

*President Nazarbayev.* First of all, Mr. President, thank you very much for your invitation. It's a great honor to be here. And I would like to start with congratulating you with a first anniversary in the office. [*Laughter*] And that year was very productive, and you achieved a lot for your country.

*President Trump.* Thank you very much.

*President Nazarbayev.* And I'm the first President from my part of the world to be received in the White House. It's a great honor. And Kazakhstan has always enjoyed the very good political relations, and we appreciate the American support for independence and territorial integrity. And for the 26 years of our independence, we enjoyed a very good, strong partnership with your country. We appreciate that very much.

And today's visit is a witness to that friendship and partnership. And I'm looking to the fruitful discussion with you on the topics that are of mutual interest to our both countries. And I do believe that, after this visit, the economic cooperation between the two countries will grow even further.

And once again, thank you for your hospitality, and I wish you success.

*President Trump.* Well, thank you very much. And we've been talking a little bit about the economies and our economy. And as the President has already said and has said again and will say again, we have broken a lot of records. We're breaking another one today. The stock market is way up. Jobs are back. Black unemployment is the best it's ever been in recorded history. It's been fantastic. And it's the best number we've had with respect to Black unemployment. We've never seen anything even close, so we're very honored by that.

And our country is doing very well. Economically, we've never had anything like it. I don't believe we've ever been in a position—and the President was so saying—we've never been in a position like we have. Many countries—many companies are moving back from other countries where they left the United States, and they're now moving back into the United States. We had some big announcement recently with Chrysler going back to Michigan. We had Toyota coming in, and it's going to build a massive plant. We have many, many companies coming in, and they're building in the United States, and that means jobs. So I appreciate all the nice things you've said, and I look forward to our luncheon; I look forward to our discussions.

And with that, I just want to thank everybody for being here.

*Immigration Reform *

*Q. *Mr. President, did you say that you want more people to come in from Norway? Did you say that you wanted more people coming in from Norway?

*President Trump.* Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

*Q. *Is that true, Mr. President?

*President Trump.* I want them to come in from everywhere—everywhere. Thank you very much, everybody.

*Q. *Just the Caucasian or White countries, sir? Or do you want people to come in from other parts of the world where they are people of color?

*President Trump.* Out.

*Former Trump SoHo Hotel in New York City *

*Q. *Mr. President, is there any Kazakh money in Trump Soho?

*President Trump.* No idea. Really no idea.

NOTE: The President spoke at 12:09 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White House. President Nazarbayev spoke in Russian, and his remarks were translated by an interpreter.

*Categories:* Interviews With the News Media : Exchange with reporters :: White House; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Kazakhstan, President Nazarbayev*.*

*Locations: *Washington, DC.

*Names:* Nazarbayev, Nursultan*.*

*Subjects:* Business and industry : Automobile industry :: Improvement; Economy, national : Improvement; Employment and unemployment : Job creation and growth; Immigration and naturalization : Reform; Kazakhstan : Investment and business ventures in U.S.; Kazakhstan : President; Kazakhstan : Relations with U.S.; Kazakhstan : Trade with U.S.

*DCPD Number:* DCPD201800027.