[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.