    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [June 21, 1997]
    [Pages 778-780]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    June 21, 1997

        Good morning. I'm speaking to you today from Denver, Colorado, where
    the leaders of the world's top industrial democracies are about to begin
    our Summit of the Eight. Over the next 2 days, the eyes of the world
    will be on Denver and on America, and we'll all have a lot to be proud
    of.
        Our economy is the healthiest in a generation and the strongest in
    the world, with the lowest unemployment in 24 years, the lowest
    inflation in 30 years, the biggest decline in inequality among our
    working families since the 1960's, and over 12 million new jobs. Our
    exports are at an all time high. We cleared a new path to prosperity and
    security with a strategy of reducing the deficit, investing in our
    people, and opening the world to our trade. Now America is poised to
    lead in the 21st century, as we have in the 20th century, about to end.
        Today I want to talk about why this summit is important to our
    Nation and our people and what we'll be working to achieve here. The
    leaders of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United
    Kingdom, Japan, the European Union, and Russia will gather shoulder to
    shoulder around the table. The very fact that we're gathering speaks
    volumes about the world today. Our homelands are thousands of miles
    apart, but the rise of the global economy, spurred by revolutions in
    technology, transportation, and communications has brought us all closer
    together. And the fact that this is the very first of these annual
    summits where a democratically elected leader of Russia joins us from
    beginning to end reflects just how far we've come from the days of the
    cold war. This moment of possibilities creates vast opportunities for
    all our people. Ideas, goods and services, technology, and capital fly
    across borders faster than ever, enriching our lives in many ways and
    contributing to our prosperity.
        But while progress spreads quickly in our global neighborhood,
    problems can, too. A currency crisis in one country can send shock waves
    far beyond its borders, endangering jobs and stability in a completely
    different part of the

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    world. Modern technology and more open borders help businesses to
    prosper, but they also help terrorists and drug traffickers and
    criminals to organize their plans and hide their tracks. Greater
    international travel and commerce exposes our people to new cultures and
    opportunities, but they also expose us to the spread of dangerous
    diseases from which no nation is immune. And erosion of environmental
    quality in one country can contribute to global problems which degrade
    the quality of life for all of us.
        Now, we've worked hard over the last 4 years to take common action
    against these common threats and to make this common action a central
    part of our summits. Here in Denver, we'll announce further steps to
    protect our citizens against them. Two years ago, when we met in
    Halifax, Canada, we agreed to work together to help prevent financial
    crises from occurring and to keep them from spreading if they do. Since
    then, our finance ministers have agreed that we should create a global
    network of banking and marketing officials to monitor financial policies
    and police risky practices. Our cooperation will help to prevent a
    financial shock in a foreign country from threatening prosperity here at
    home.
        We're also working with the developing countries to help them to
    adopt sound financial practices so that their markets work smoothly and
    they can build stable businesses and attract trade and investment. These
    emerging economies are the fastest growing in the world. Helping them to
    build their prosperity means greater opportunities for American exports
    and more good American jobs.
        We'll also continue to advance our fight against new forces of
    destruction that have no regard for borders. Last year, when we met in
    Lyons, France, we agreed on a series of measures to combat terrorism and
    organized crime. Since then we've actually implemented concrete steps,
    from improving airline security to denying safe haven for criminals.
    We've also made significant progress in bolstering the safety and
    security of nuclear materials, something that simply wouldn't have been
    possible without Russia as a partner. Together, the eight are working to
    tighten the management of plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads to
    keep them from falling into the wrong hands. To better prevent and
    investigate nuclear smuggling incidents, we set up a rapid response
    network, stepped up law enforcement intelligence and customs
    cooperation, and improved our nuclear forensics capabilities so that we
    can identify the sources of smuggled nuclear materials. Soon, more than
    20 additional countries in Europe and central Asia will be joining us in
    these common endeavors.
        This year, we'll be taking on another global challenge: the spread
    of infectious disease. Many people believe this will be one of the most
    serious problems of the 21st century. I will press here for an agreement
    to develop together a global disease surveillance network to provide
    early warning of outbreaks so that we can respond quickly and
    effectively, to coordinate that response so that we get the right
    medicines where they're needed as fast as possible, and to strengthen
    our public health systems, especially those in the developing world. I
    will also urge my fellow leaders to join America in a vigorous search
    for an HIV/AIDS vaccine, as I called for at Morgan State University in
    Maryland last month.
        Together, the meeting of the eight is part of the larger effort
    we're making to organize the world to deal with the global challenges in
    the century ahead. We know that if we pool our strength, our experience,
    and our ideas, we stand a far better chance of success. And for American
    families, that will mean greater prosperity, greater peace, and greater
    security for our children.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 4:30 p.m. on June 20 at the press
    filing center in Denver, CO, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 21.

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