    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 13, 2006]
    [Pages 461-462]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Mikulas
    Dzurinda of Slovakia
    March 13, 2006

        President Bush. Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. Thank you for coming. I
    always enjoy being with you because you're an optimistic, upbeat
    believer in the people of your country and the possibilities to work
    together to achieve peace. And so thanks for coming.
        I admire the job you have done, and I admire the record that you
    have produced. A lot of times in politics, people are pretty good
    talkers, but they don't follow through. You have followed through.
        We discussed a lot of issues. I thank the Prime Minister for his
    contributions to helping young democracies succeed, democracies in
    Afghanistan and Iraq. And I want to thank you for that.
        We discussed the importance for transatlantic ties between the
    United States and not only Slovakia but also between the United States
    and Europe. And I assured him that those transatlantic ties are an
    important part of our policies here.
        We talked about two issues that I found--that I know are important.
    One, of course, is the visa issue. The Prime Minister made it very clear
    that he expects there to be some progress on the visa issue, that he's--
    he represents the good people of Slovakia when he says to me that there
    needs to be a constant renewal of the process to make sure that it is
    fair. And I appreciate--I listened very carefully to my friend and can
    assure the people of Slovakia that we are working together to make the
    visa policy work better.
        Secondly, he talked about the knowledge-based economy that he
    envisioned for his country. And I thought, first of all, it's very wise
    to--he recognizes the world and the challenges of the world and knows
    full well that as people gain knowledge, a country is going to end up
    being more competitive in the 21st century.
        And so I--we strategized about ways to help Slovakia and the United
    States benefit

    [[Page 462]]

    from exchanges, and particularly student exchanges, so that knowledge
    becomes a paramount part of our future.
        And so, Mr. Prime Minister, thanks for your vision. And I also feel
    sorry for the fact that you broke your leg. This guy's a good runner.
    And so now I feel comfortable challenging you to a race. [Laughter] Had
    you been healthy, I wouldn't even had gotten on the same track with you.
    But I wish you a speedy recovery, and thanks again for coming to the
    United States.
        Prime Minister Dzurinda. Thank you, Mr. President. My leg is broken,
    but my heart is happy. [Laughter] My heart is happy because we are
    friends and strong allies, America and Slovakia, America and the
    European Union. I am happy being here because we are good friends.
    President Bush visited us a year ago; he visited President of Russia,
    Mr. Putin, in Bratislava, and we remember this fantastic stay of
    President Bush in Slovakia.
        We are good friends, and we share the responsibility for development
    in the world. I highly appreciate the leadership of President Bush in
    solving of global issues, the most hot and most complicated issues in
    the world. And I talked to President Bush that transatlantic cooperation
    is and must stay the basis of our security. This is something like axis
    of stability, prosperity, and the future of both countries, but also the
    future of the democratic world.
        As President Bush has already mentioned, we have some bilateral
    issues. I appreciate especially his State of Union, during which he
    announced a new program how to educate people, young generation. We want
    to do the same. We want to find a new way, thanks to which it would be
    possible to cooperate with the United States also in the area of science
    research and development, innovation, education. And I believe that we
    will discover these new ways.
        Of course we spoke many issues of foreign policy, as usually. And I
    can only tell that our view is the same, and we will continue in this
    cooperation to advance freedom and democracy in the world.
        Mr. President, thank you very, very much for being such a good
    leader.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:35 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. Prime Minister Dzurinda referred to President Vladimir V. Putin
    of Russia.