[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[September 26, 1994]
[Page 1632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1632]]


Remarks at a Reception for Heads of State and United Nations Delegations 
in New York City
September 26, 1994

    Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary; and thank you, Ambassador 
Albright, and thank you for your outstanding leadership in the United 
Nations.
    Most of what I have to say I have already said to the United Nations 
today. And we did not ask you to come here to listen to speeches but 
simply to enjoy yourselves and to give us a chance to say thank you for 
your friendship to the United States and your cooperation with the 
United States.
    I'm very glad to be here in one of our Nation's truly outstanding 
institutions, this magnificent museum, and particularly in this place. 
When I walked in, the Foreign Minister of Egypt rolled his eyes at me 
because here we are. I do want to say that I am here out of respect for 
Egyptian culture, not because I am a candidate for pharaoh.
    I would just leave you with this one thought. We have an enormous 
opportunity today. Every day we get up and we read about all the 
problems we have in the world, and most of the discussions in the United 
Nations are focused on those problems. But the way that we talk about 
them is made possible because of the triumph of democracy, the triumph 
of freedom, the end of the cold war, the possibilities opened to us by 
the global spread of technology and enterprise and opportunity. And so I 
ask you all to maintain a very hopeful outlook. Even as we are careful 
and calculated about what we can do and we don't reach into those things 
we cannot, let us look to the future with real confidence.
    I feel very, very hopeful about the next 50 years for the United 
Nations, and especially about the next 10 years as we prepare the way 
for the 21st century, in which, as I said, I hope we will prove that 
freedom and democracy can not only endure but can actually triumph and 
change the lives of ordinary people all across the world.
    Thank you very much, and welcome.

Note: The President spoke at 7:15 p.m. at the Metropolitan Museum of 
Art.