    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 22, 2000]
    [Pages 1000-1001]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony for President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa
    May 22, 2000

        President Mbeki, Mrs. Mbeki, distinguished
    members of the South African delegation, we welcome you back to America
    and to the White House, where we hope, despite the rain, you feel our
    warm welcome and you feel very much at home.
        Sometimes the most important history is made quietly. Last June was
    such a day, when the people in townships in South Africa waited
    patiently in long lines to vote for President Mbeki, to elect him the
    new President of South Africa, and complete the first transition from
    one democratic government to another.
        It reminded us that for all the setbacks, the 1990's were a time of
    extraordinary liberation for humankind, with democracy spreading to more
    people in 1999 than it did in 1989, the year the Iron Curtain came down.
        President Mbeki, you embody both the courage of the long struggle
    that brought democracy to South Africa and the vision now needed to
    define South Africa's critical role in the new century. You are leading
    your nation and an entire continent forward, supporting peacemaking and
    peacekeeping, fighting against poverty and illiteracy and for economic
    opportunity.
        Our nations have drawn closer together over the last few years,
    thanks in no small part to the remarkable work that you and Vice
    President Gore have done together to deepen
    our ties. Today we will move forward on many fronts, fighting common
    threats and removing barriers to trade and investment. Last Thursday I
    was proud to sign into law a bill that will build commerce and
    investment between us and many other nations in Africa and the Caribbean
    region.
        As I said in South Africa in 1998, I believe in Africa's future, in
    its progress and its promise. Just one small example: Last year three of
    the world's five fastest growing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa.
        Of course, terrible problems remain in the Horn of Africa, where a
    senseless war is again claiming new victims; in the Congo and Zimbabwe
    and Sierra Leone, in Angola, and across the continent, where so many
    millions are too burdened by debt and so many innocents are dying of
    AIDS, TB, and malaria. These are hard challenges without easy answers,
    and they will test our partnership. But that is what partners are for,
    to solve big problems together.
        The United States can and must work with South Africa and all our
    friends in Africa to fight poverty, disease, war, famine, and flood. We
    do so because it is right and because it is in our interests. If we want
    a world of rising growth and expanding markets, a world in which our
    security is not threatened by the spread of armed conflict, a world in
    which bitter ethnic and religious differences are resolved by force of
    argument, not force of arms, a world in which terrorists and criminals
    have no place to hide, a world in which economic activity does not
    destroy the natural environment for our children, a world in which
    children are healthy and go to school and don't die of AIDS in the
    streets or fight in wars, then we must be involved in Africa.
        That is why we have passed the Africa trade bill, why we support
    debt relief for the poorest countries, why we have been working to
    recognize AIDS as a security threat to the United States, and why we
    have moved to make critical drugs available at affordable prices and to
    lead an international effort to develop vaccines for AIDS, TB, and
    malaria.
        A few weeks ago, President Mbeki announced a new coat of arms for
    South Africa. The motto of the coat of arms, written in an ancient
    African language, means, ``people who are different join

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    together.'' That sentiment strikes close to the heart of what it means
    to be an American, as well as a South African. And it concisely
    summarizes our goal today and for the future, advancing a partnership
    between two nations that will always be different but are joined
    together by a profound commitment to freedom and to our common humanity.
        We welcome you here, Mr. President, and we look forward to working
    with you.
        Thank you.

     Note: The President spoke at 10:18 a.m. in the East Room at the White
    House, where President Mbeki was accorded a formal welcome with full
    military honors. In his remarks, the President referred to President
    Mbeki's wife, Zanele. The President also referred to Public Law 106-200,
    the Trade and Development Act of 2000. The transcript released by the
    Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of the President
    Mbeki.