[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.

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