    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 22, 2000]
    [Pages 1005-1006]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the State Dinner Honoring President Thabo Mbeki
    of South Africa
    May 22, 2000

        Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the White House. And let me say a
    special word of welcome to President and Mrs. Mbeki and the South African delegation.
        In 1966 Robert Kennedy began a famous speech to the students at Cape
    Town by describing his deep interest in a land settled by the Dutch in
    the mid 17th century, then taken over by the British before finally
    becoming independent, a land with complicated and cruel racial problems
    dating back centuries, a land of untamed frontiers alongside a proud
    history of entrepreneurial achievement. He said, ``I refer, of course,
    to the United States of America.'' [Laughter]
        Obviously, in 1966 and in 2000, a great deal unites South Africa and
    the United States. We share a fundamental sense, dating back to our
    earliest struggles, continuing through our most recent ones, that
    nationhood is more than an inheritance; it is a living gift to be
    protected, defended, and redefined every day.
        Few nations have worked harder at nationhood or achieved more
    impressive results than South Africa. Few leaders have given more of
    themselves to the struggle than Thabo Mbeki. His mother says that even when he was a small child, he used
    to get terribly excited whenever news broadcasts came over the radio. If
    only we could replicate that today. [Laughter]
        When his father was in prison, alongside Nelson Mandela, in the
    early 1960's, Thabo Mbeki carried on the struggle from England. At the
    tender age of 21, he delivered a powerful appeal for his father's life
    in which he mentioned, as an aside, the fact that his father's birthday
    was the Fourth of July, 1910. Even though the United States was not
    exactly supporting the ANC in 1964, he saw that day, nevertheless, as a
    symbol of freedom and all the more reason his father should not lose his
    life for affirming the simple truth that all people are created equal.
        Fortunately, Thabo Mbeki won that campaign, as he has won so many
    since. And South Africa's resurgence has given the entire world
    something to feel proud of. Today we talk about how best to deliver on
    its promise, how to deepen the friendship between our nations. I have
    already thanked President Mbeki for his strong support for peacekeeping
    and his ongoing leadership throughout the continent. I pledged to him
    that we would work harder to hasten the return of peace in troubled
    parts of Africa and that we would do more to build the prosperity needed
    to make conflict and disease less likely.
        So many people who are here tonight, Mr. President, Mrs.
    Mbeki, contributed to the landmark legislation
    I signed last week to expand our trade with Africa and the Caribbean.
    Now we need to keep the momentum going to support the Africans who are
    working and fighting for peace, to relieve the debt of the poorest
    nations so they can devote their resources to basic human needs, to find
    cures and treatments and preventive strategies for the diseases ravaging
    the continent.
        With echoes of John Donne, President Mbeki once said we have to
    address the problems of other peoples, because ``each one of us is a
    particle of the complete whole.'' A South African poet, Mongane Wally
    Serote, recently wrote a poem entitled ``Come hope with me.'' As you
    might imagine, I sort of liked it. [Laughter] In the poem, he urges
    people never to forget, ``life is a promise, and that promise is us.''
        Tonight I ask you to join me in a toast to President and Mrs.
    Mbeki, to the people of South Africa and the
    promise of South Africa, the promise that will always join our two
    peoples.

    [[Page 1006]]

     Note: The President spoke at 9:40 p.m. in the State Dinning Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to President Mbeki's wife,
    Zanele, and his mother, Epainette; and former President Nelson Mandela
    of South Africa. 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 President Mbeki.