*Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2018 *

**Remarks at a Dinner Reception for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in Palm Beach, Florida **

*April 18, 2018 *

*President Trump.* Thank you very much. It's been a great honor to have the Prime Minister of Japan and his extraordinary wife with us tonight at Mar-a-Lago. We call this the southern White House. It was originally built, as you probably have heard, as the southern White House. And it's turned out to be the southern White House. So it's really an honor.

We've have had two very productive days on trade, on military, on North Korea. And we will continue, and we will also continue into the weeks ahead. And we're coming up with what will be a very fair trade deal for both countries. And we look forward to it. Plus, we have some very big meetings, as we all know, on North Korea.

But, Mr. Prime Minister, I very much appreciate your being here. And we look forward to many, many years of great friendship. Thank you very much.

*Prime Minister Abe.* So at the outset, I'd like to return my appreciation for the gracious hospitality extended to—from Mr. President, as well as Madam First Lady, to myself as well as my wife.

So yesterday I also enjoyed our company. We had a great dinner last night. But also, I'm very happy to be here again at this magnificent setting. And also, I do appreciate that you kindly extended your hospitality to my delegation as well tonight.

But to be honest with you, today we also had the cheeseburger at the golf course. [*Laughter*]And on top of that, we had the working lunch. So we already had two lunches in the same day. [*Laughter*]

*President Trump*. That's right.

*Prime Minister Abe*. And now we are going to have, as well, one dinner.

So from yesterday and today, we had many opportunities to exchange our views in a very candid manner. And through the course of these discussions, we covered many issues, including North Korea, security, economy, as well as trade. So no doubt that I'm very confident that through my visit this time, we could forge stronger friendship between myself and Donald, and also how we could forge stronger relationship, as well as the alliance between Japan and the United States. Thank you.

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

NOTE: The President spoke at 7:41 p.m. at the Mar-a-Lago Club. In his remarks, he referred to Akie Abe, wife of Prime Minister Abe. 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: *Palm Beach, FL.

*Names:* Abe, Akie; Abe, Shinzo*.* *Subjects:* Commerce, international : Free and fair trade; Florida : President's visits; Japan : Defense relationship with U.S.; Japan : Prime Minister; Japan : Relations with U.S.; North Korea : International diplomatic efforts.

*DCPD Number:* DCPD201800252.