    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 10, 1997]
    [Pages 587-588]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Welcoming Ceremony With Caribbean Leaders in Bridgetown
    May 10, 1997

        To our host, Prime Minister--if I had known earlier in my life that
    George Washington came here as a young man, I would have been here
    before. [Laughter] I thank you for the warm welcome that you have given
    to me and to my wife, to Secretary Albright, and our delegation.
        I wanted to make the important point last night, and I would like to
    make it again, that while we have gathered as a group before in the
    White House and in Port-au-Prince, this is the first time an American
    President has actually held a summit with the Caribbean heads of
    Government in the region itself. But the point I wish to make is that
    this is not a meeting between Caribbean nations and the United States,
    but rather a meeting among Caribbean nations including the United
    States.
        Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands lie at the heart of this
    region. We are joined today by the Governor of the Virgin Islands,
    Governor Roy Schneider; the congressional delegate from Puerto Rico and
    former Governor, Carlos Romero-Barcelo; last night the delegate from the
    Virgin Islands, Donna Christian-Green, was here with us; and we also
    have Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California here.
        The United States is very much aware that millions of our fellow
    citizens trace their heritage to these islands and that we have
    benefited immeasurably from them. More than ever before, we are linked
    economically and politically. Every nation but one in the Caribbean has
    chosen free elections and free markets. I am proud that the United
    States has long been a beacon for freedom in this hemisphere. But I am
    proud that so many of the other nations represented around this table
    have also been long beacons for freedom.
        And like all the rest of you, we are especially gratified to be
    joined by the second democratically elected President of Haiti. And
    President Preval, we're glad you're here and we wish you well and we're
    with you all the way.
        We have a lot of work to do today, and I will try to be brief. We
    have to work on means to expand the quality of our lives by expanding
    trade, by helping small economies compete in a global economy, by
    strengthening the education of our children, and deepening our
    cooperation against crime and drugs. If we work together, we can bring
    the benefits of change to our citizens and beat back the darker aspects
    of it. We can meet the new threats to our security and enhance our
    prosperity.
        I want this summit to be the start of an ongoing and deeper process
    of Caribbean cooperation. We have worked very hard, all of us have, to
    make this summit productive. We have a rich and full document to which
    we are all going to commit ourselves. But still, we must be committed to
    working over the months and years ahead for our people and our Caribbean
    community, and that is my commitment to you. This summit should be the
    beginning, not the end of this process.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:13 a.m. in the North West Plenary
    Conference Room at the Sherbourne Center.

    [[Page 588]]