    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [May 8, 2007]
    [Pages 545-546]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With President Rene Garcia Preval of Haiti
    May 8, 2007

        President Bush. I appreciate very much the President of Haiti
    joining us here in the Oval Office. Mr. President, welcome. I thank you
    for your courage. I thank you for having one of the toughest jobs in the
    world, and that is to bring prosperity and security to your country.
        While there is still a lot of work to be done, there's progress
    being made on a variety of fronts. The security situation is improving
    somewhat, and the United States supports the U.N. mission in Haiti. The
    economy is improving, inflation is down, exports are up. Yet there's
    still a lot of work to be done. And, Mr. President, I praise your
    efforts on establishing rule of law and routing out corruption. And the
    United States wants to help you.
        The United States is proud to support the men and women of Haiti in
    a variety of ways. One among the most notable programs and one of which
    I'm particularly proud is our PEPFAR program, the program to help deal
    with HIV/AIDS. The President mentioned other ways that we can help in
    fighting drugs, drug traffickers. I was particularly pleased that he
    brought up the idea of helping the education system in Haiti. And I have
    instructed Secretary Rice, along with our
    Ambassador, to work with the Government,
    see if we can help.
        And finally, the President was very concerned about the status of
    Haitians who are here in America. I assured him that I am working hard
    to get a comprehensive immigration bill passed out of the Congress this
    year. As a man who cares deeply about the people of Haiti, it's--I am
    pleased that he has expressed his concerns. And I think, Mr. President,
    with hard work and good will, we can get a bill that will satisfy your
    concerns.
        We welcome you. Thanks for coming.
        President Preval. I thank President Bush for his invitation. And
    this was a chance for me to describe to him our situation and the
    expectations of the Haitian people.
        The purpose of this mission was to explain the situation in Haiti,
    and President Bush noted with interest the points that were raised. I'm
    not going to come back to them right now, but I would like to thank the
    United States for the fraternal aid it has given Haiti. And I would
    particularly like to thank President Bush for the HOPE bill and for the
    efforts made for its reinforcing the judicial system, the police force,
    and also to help strengthen the Haitian State.
        I also took this chance to express my condolences to President Bush
    and to the American people for the tragedy that we've been through in
    Kansas. Each time someone suffers, we all suffer. And I would like to
    ask President Bush to transmit in my name and in the name of the Haitian
    people our condolences to the American people.
        Peace has been restored, and the conditions for investment are here.
    Haiti is awaiting American investors. We've opened a campaign to fight
    against corruption and contraband so that all can be on a level playing
    field and for conditions for competition to be right. Therefore,
    investors will not have to fear in terms of security or corruption, and
    they can come to Haiti, because what we need in Haiti are jobs.
        And I would also like to thank the President for his in--assistance
    in the fight against the plague, which is the drug trade. Drugs in Haiti
    represent a force, and Haiti alone cannot fight against the drug trade.
    It always weakens the state and corrupts the state. And it doesn't--the
    drug trade does not function well with a strong state or a healthy
    state. It tries to corrupt the police force; it tries to corrupt the
    judiciary and the executive. And drug trafficking thrives in a weak
    state. Drug traffickers

    [[Page 546]]

    invest in weakening and destabilizing the state. And I would like to
    thank the President who, through the DEA, is helping us in this effort
    against the plague of drugs.
        And I will end on a note of hope, because we have countrymen who are
    here illegally and are living in a difficult situation. The President
    has promised to work on an immigration bill that will help improve the
    lives of our countrymen here in the United States.
        Thank you.
        President Bush. Good job. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:45 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Janet A.
    Sanderson. President Preval spoke in French, and his remarks were
    translated by an interpreter.