    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [February 5, 1998]
    [Pages 173-174]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Welcoming Prime Minister Tony Blair of
    the United Kingdom
    February 5, 1998

        Thank you very much. Mr. Prime Minister, Mrs. Blair, members of the British delegation, welcome to America
    and to the White House. We apologize for the rain, but the Sun is
    shining in our hearts today because you are here. Today we celebrate the
    unbreakable bond between our two nations. It led the fight for freedom
    in the 20th century, and we set our sights now on renewing our alliance
    for a new century with all its promise and challenge.
        At the heart of all we have done and all we will do together in the
    future is the unshakable conviction that our people have the inalienable
    right to pursue their dreams in peace, security, and freedom, and the
    sure

    [[Page 174]]

    knowledge that we can always depend upon each other to stand for that
    conviction together.
        These are good times for the people of the United States and Great
    Britain. Freedom and democracy are taking hold around the world. In both
    our nations, a vibrant new economy is growing, rooted in new ideas, new
    technologies, new scientific breakthroughs, changing the way we live and
    learn, the way we work and compete, the way to relate to each other and
    the rest of the world.
        In both our nations we have moved to build a government for the 21st
    century going beyond the dogmas of the past, focused on giving our
    people the tools to make the most of their own lives: a world-class
    education, the ability to move from welfare to work, a system of
    retirement security as strong for our children as it has been for our
    parents. In this new era, a new Britain and a new America, true to our
    oldest and most cherished values, can blaze new paths for the world.
        Our 21st century alliance, by example and exertion, must protect the
    promise we are working so hard to secure. We will stand together for
    peace, as in Bosnia where our troops are working side by side to secure
    the Dayton accords. We will search the new solutions to stubborn strife,
    as in Northern Ireland, where the Prime Minister's courageous leadership
    and the determined efforts of the Irish Government are clearing a
    pathway to peace. We will stand against those who defy the will of the
    international community, bringing terrorists to justice in the case of
    Pan Am 103, maintaining stability in the Persian Gulf, where the British
    aircraft carrier Invincible is patrolling the waters alongside our U.S.
    Fleet, something that our men and women in uniform find great strength
    in, Mr. Prime Minister.
        Our 21st century alliance embraces the idea of a Europe strong,
    prosperous, democratic, and undivided for the first time in history. So
    as Britain maintains its friendship with America, it is playing a
    leading role in shaping that new Europe: a healthy European Union,
    reaching out to new members; a strong NATO taking in new allies;
    practical partnerships with new democracies, including Russia and
    Ukraine, all important steps on the road to a more peaceful 21st
    century.
        Mr. Prime Minister, the earliest English settlers who came to this
    country had the vision to see over the horizon. Like them, you have
    shown the foresight, the imagination, the daring to envision a new world
    and the determination to make that vision real. You have invigorated
    Britain, issued an exhilarating challenge for a proud people whose best
    days, clearly, still lie ahead.
        T.S. Eliot, who has been variously claimed by both our countries,
    once wrote in the ``Four Quartets,'' ``The end is where we start from.''
    At the end of a century of friendship, let us pledge to connect our
    storied past to the unwritten promise of our future. Mr. Prime Minister,
    welcome to the United States.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:09 a.m. in the Grand Foyer at the White
    House, where Prime Minister Blair was accorded a formal welcome with
    full military honors. In his remarks, the President referred to the
    Prime Minister's wife, Cherie. The transcript released by the Office of
    the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Prime Minister Blair.