[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[June 9, 2008]
[Pages 771-772]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Departure for Kranj, Slovenia
June 9, 2008

    Good morning. I'm just about to leave for Europe. I'm looking 
forward to my trip. I'm looking forward to meeting with our friends and 
allies. We've got strong relations in Europe, and this trip will help 
solidify those relations. And we got a lot to talk about.
    First, I'm looking forward to talking about the freedom agenda with 
the European nations. You know, we've got a lot

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of work to do in Afghanistan. And the countries I'm going to have 
committed troops to Afghanistan, and of course, I want to thank them and 
remind them there's a lot of work to be done.
    I talked to Laura yesterday, who, as you now 
know, took a trip to Afghanistan. I want to thank her for going. She 
gave me a good assessment about what she saw. She saw progress, but she 
also saw there needs to be a lot of work to be done--there's a lot of 
work to be done. And so she's going to go to the Paris conference, along 
with Secretary Rice, on our behalf to ask 
nations to contribute to the development of Afghanistan, which will mean 
they'll be contributing to peace.
    And then, of course, we'll be talking about the economy. A lot of 
Americans are concerned about our economy. I can understand why. 
Gasoline prices are high; energy prices are high. I do remind them that 
we have put a stimulus package forward that is expected to help boost 
the economy. Of course, we'll be monitoring the situation.
    We'll remind our friends and allies overseas that we're all too 
dependent on hydrocarbons and must work to advance technologies to help 
us become less dependent on hydrocarbons. I'll also remind them, though, 
that the United States has an opportunity to help increase the supply of 
oil on the market, therefore, taking pressure off gasoline for hard-
working Americans, and that I've proposed to the Congress that they open 
up ANWR and open up the Continental Shelf, and give this country a 
chance to help us through this difficult period by finding more supplies 
of crude oil, which will take the pressure off the price of gasoline.
    These are global issues we'll be discussing. Secretary 
Paulson will be also discussing issues 
at the G-8 ministers in Japan this week.
    As well, I'll talk about our Nation's commitment to a strong dollar. 
A strong dollar is in our Nation's interests; it is in the interests of 
the global economy. Our economy is large, and it's open and flexible. 
Our capital markets are some of the deepest and most liquid. And the 
long-term health and strong foundation of our economy will shine through 
and be reflected in currency values.
    U.S. economy has continued to grow in the face of unprecedented 
challenges. We got to keep our economies flexible. Both the U.S. economy 
and European economies need to be flexible in order to deal with today's 
challenges.
    I'm looking forward to my trip, and I'm looking forward to seeing 
Laura. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 6:55 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House.