    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [April 25, 2005]
    [Pages 660-662]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah of
    Saudi Arabia
    April 25, 2005

        Sixty years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Kingdom of
    Saudi Arabia's founder King Abdulaziz Al Saud held a historic meeting
    upon a sturdy ship at the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal. In six
    hours President Bush's predecessor and the Crown Prince's father
    established a strong personal bond that set the tone for decades of
    close relations between our two nations.
        Today, we renewed our personal friendship and that between our
    nations. In our meeting we agreed that momentous changes in the world
    call on us to forge a new relationship between our two countries--a
    strengthened partnership that builds on our past partnership, meets
    today's challenges, and embraces the opportunities our nations will face
    in the next sixty years.
        Our friendship begins with the recognition that our nations have
    proud and very distinct histories.
        The United States respects Saudi Arabia as the birthplace of Islam,
    one of the world's great religions, and as the symbolic center of the
    Islamic faith as custodian of Islam's two holy places in Makkah and
    Madina. Saudi Arabia reiterates its call on all those who teach and
    propagate the
    Islamic faith to adhere strictly to the Islamic message of peace,
    moderation, and

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    tolerance and reject that which deviates from those principles. Both
    countries agree that this message of peace, moderation, and tolerance
    must extend to those of all faiths and practices. The two nations
    reaffirm the principles agreed to during the international conference on
    counterterrorism hosted by the Kingdom in February 2005. These
    principles were enshrined in the ``Riyadh Declaration'' which calls for,
    ``fostering values of understanding, tolerance, dialogue, co-existence,
    and the rapprochement between cultures . . . [and] for fighting any form
    of thinking that promotes hatred, incites violence, and condones
    terrorist crimes which can by no means be accepted by any religion or
    law.''
        The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recognizes the principle of freedom upon
    which the United States was founded, including the freedoms enshrined
    under the first amendment of the United States Constitution. The Kingdom
    appreciates the United States' historic role in working to end
    colonialism and imperialism and promoting the right of self-
    determination.
        While the United States considers that nations will create
    institutions that reflect the history, culture, and traditions of their
    societies, it does not seek to impose its own style of government on the
    government and people of Saudi Arabia. The United States applauds the
    recently held elections in the Kingdom for representatives to municipal
    councils and looks for even wider participation in accordance with the
    Kingdom's reform program.
        The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States are close partners
    in many important endeavors. We welcome the renewed determination of
    Saudi Arabia to pursue economic reform and its quest to join the World
    Trade Organization (WTO). We will work together as partners to complete
    our negotiations and with other WTO members in Geneva with the aim of
    welcoming Saudi Arabia into the WTO before the end of 2005.
        Both nations pledge to continue their cooperation so that the oil
    supply from Saudi Arabia will be available and secure. The United States
    appreciates Saudi Arabia's strong commitment to accelerating investment
    and expanding its production capacity to help provide stability and
    adequately supply the market.

        The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States commit to actively
    help the Iraqi people realize their aspirations to build a secure,
    sovereign, prosperous, and unified nation at peace with its neighbors
    and where Iraqis of all religions and ethnic groups are free to
    participate in its institutions. Both nations call on the international
    community to support Iraq's political and economic development. Both
    nations urge neighboring states not to interfere in Iraq's internal
    political affairs.

        Both our nations have witnessed the horror of terrorism on our
    homelands by violent individuals and groups who indiscriminately kill
    people of all faiths and nationalities in order to further their
    extremist agenda. Both our nations assert our determination to continue
    to improve upon our close cooperation to combat terrorism and to choke
    off resources intended for them and their support networks. We honor the
    memory of the victims of terrorism--and those who have lost their lives
    fighting terrorists--and pledge to work together until terrorism no
    longer threatens our nations and the entire world.

        The United States and Saudi Arabia continue to support efforts to
    prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and of the technology and
    materiel needed to develop and build nuclear weapons. Efforts to develop
    and acquire such weapons run contrary to efforts to promote peace and
    stability in the region.

        The United States and Saudi Arabia support UN Security Council
    Resolution 1559

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    and, accordingly, take note of Syria's decision to withdraw all its
    troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon. Both nations welcome a
    provisional Lebanese government and look forward to free and fair
    elections unburdened by foreign interference or intimidation.
        With regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States
    and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia desire a just, negotiated settlement
    wherein two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side
    in peace and security. We will continue our efforts to achieve this
    objective, and reiterate our support for the efforts of the Palestinian
    Authority to bring democracy, peace, and prosperity to all Palestinians.
    The United States thanks Crown Prince Abdullah for his bold initiative--
    adopted unanimously by the Arab Summit in 2002--that seeks to encourage
    an Israel-Palestinian and Israel-Arab peace. We believe that an Israeli
    withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank will be a significant
    step forward toward implementation of the Road Map. It is our firm
    conviction that resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will remove a
    major source of tension and contribute to stability and progress in the
    region.
        Finally, the United States and Saudi Arabia agree that our future
    relations must rest on a foundation of broad cooperation. We must work
    to expand dialogue, understanding, and interactions between our
    citizens. This will include programs designed to (1) increase the number
    of young Saudi students to travel and study in the United States; (2)
    increase our military exchange programs so that more Saudi officers
    visit the United States for military education and training; and (3)
    increase the number of Americans traveling to work and study in the
    Kingdom. The United States recognizes we must exert great efforts to
    overcome obstacles facing Saudi businessmen and students who wish to
    enter the United States and we pledge to our Saudi friends that we will
    take on this effort. A high-level joint committee has been established
    to be headed by the Saudi Foreign Minister and the U.S. Secretary of State that will deal with strategic issues of vital
    importance to the two countries.

    Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this joint statement.