    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [January 13, 2009]
    [Pages 1565-1567]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With President Felipe de Jesus Calderon
    Hinojosa of Mexico
    January 13, 2009

        President Bush. Bienvenido a mi amigo. Mr. President, welcome.
        President Calderon. Thank you.
        President Bush. It has been a true pleasure to work with President
    Calderon. He's a man of conviction, he is a man of principle, and he is
    a man who's willing to take on tough challenges. I have appreciated
    every meeting I've had with him.
        I want to take--talk about two subjects quickly. One, Americans are
    concerned about the battle that's taking place in Mexico, and I want our
    fellow citizens to understand that this man understands the
    responsibilities of government to provide security; that he will not
    allow his country, or parts of his country, to be taken over by
    narcotraffickers; and that the United States of America wants to share
    and help deal with the issue on both sides of the border. The less drugs
    we use, the less pressure there will be in Mexico. We have got
    responsibilities to help prevent guns from going from the United States
    into Mexico.
        And so, Mr. President, you and I have laid the foundation for a
    constructive, mutual engagement on this issue.
        And secondly, I want to thank you for your steadfast support of
    trade. I'm a big, strong believer in NAFTA. NAFTA has been good for the
    United States of America, and NAFTA has been good for Mexico. And I want
    to thank you for that.
        And so, Mr. President, it has been a pleasure to work with you.
    Thank you for your friendship.
        President Calderon. Thank you.
        President Bush. Yes. Y ahora en el espanol.
        President Calderon. Como no.

    [At this point, President Calderon made remarks in Spanish. He then
    spoke in English, as follows.]

        President Calderon. We have a strong commitment in order to fight
    and defeat the criminals in Mexico, and we will do so. And we have a
    strong commitment with the rule of law, enforcement of the law in our
    country.

    [President Calderon continued in Spanish. He then concluded in English,
    as follows.]

        President Calderon. Thank you, President Bush----
        President Bush. Yes, sir.
        President Calderon. ----and good luck in the future.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
        White House Staff Member. Okay, guys, thank you----
        President Bush. Hold on. Un momento, un momento.
        President Calderon. Wait. Hold on.

    [[Page 1566]]

    [An interpreter then provided the translation of President Calderon's
    previously delivered remarks.]

        Interpreter. Good afternoon, friends. I wanted to say that I came
    here to Washington, DC, to wish President Bush the very best. I want to
    wish him and his family all the best in this new phase. And I want to
    thank him especially for the friendship that he has shown me over the
    last 2 years in facing our common challenges together----
        President Calderon. And his support.
        Interpreter. ----and for his support. [Laughter]
        With regard to the issues that President Bush has raised, I want to
    say that our administration has made a crucial decision in this regard.
    We are going to be promoting law; we are going to be promoting order in
    our country. We will be promoting the rule of law for all Mexicans.
        We have worked jointly in this regard. We have worked together on
    the drug-trafficking combat front. We have worked together to combat
    organized crime.
        This is not an isolated problem for any country. This is a common
    problem that affects us both. And in order to do so, we have worked
    together, and we have made this resolution.
        We are committed to fighting criminals and to overcoming them once
    and for all. And the rule of law is the one thing that I want to stress
    we are going to promote, no matter what, in our country.
        I agree with what the President has said with regard to the North
    America Free Trade Agreement. It has proved to be very useful, both for
    the United States and for Mexico. In that regard, millions of jobs were
    created here in the United States. Mexico is the second largest
    purchaser of U.S. goods. We buy, in fact, twice as many U.S. products as
    the People's Republic of China. Two million jobs based on exports were
    created in Mexico----
        President Calderon. No, in the United States.
        Interpreter. ----in the United States, excuse me, as a result of
    NAFTA. [Laughter] And yesterday I was discussing with President-elect
    Obama the fact that we are willing to continue working on future
    additions of a way to continue to build on the achievements that NAFTA
    has created--benefits, issues of concern to both of our citizens. I
    understand that there are issues of concern to Mexicans, as well as to
    U.S. citizens, on the issue of the environment and on labor.
        I want to wish the very best to President Bush, to his family, as
    well as to the United States. The U.S. will continue to solve its
    problems with success, I have no doubt about that. And we in Mexico can
    only wish the very best for this country, a great country, and for its
    citizens in overcoming the economic crisis it is now facing, overcoming
    other problems, as well as drug consumption, because any problems
    arising in the United States in some way will also affect Mexican
    citizens as well.
        And so we can only wish you the very best in every area. Thank you.
        President Calderon. Thank you.
        President Bush. Thank you, thank you. Adios.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:58 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, President Calderon referred to President-elect
    Barack Obama. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of these remarks.

    [[Page 1567]]