[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[November 14, 2008]
[Pages 1371-1372]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a State Dinner With Financial Markets and World Economy 
Summit Participants
November 14, 2008

    Your Excellencies, welcome to the United States. Welcome to the 
White House. And welcome to the Summit on Financial Markets and the 
World Economy.
    I do want to begin my remarks by extending our heartfelt sympathies 
and prayers to Prime Minister Balkenende. He landed today and called me on the phone to inform me 
that his father had passed away. He returned back to his country to be 
with his family, and we wish them all the very best.
    In the State Dining Room tonight are representatives of major 
industrialized economies, some of the largest developing economies, and 
key international financial institutions. We are here because we share a 
concern about the impact of the global financial crisis on the people of 
our nations. We share a determination to fix the problems that led to 
this turmoil. We share a conviction that by working together, we can 
restore the global economy to the path of long-term prosperity.
    When we sit down at the summit table tomorrow, we bring clear 
priorities. Tomorrow's discussion will be the first in a series of 
meetings. We will focus on key, five objectives: understanding the 
causes of the global crisis, reviewing the effectiveness of our 
responses thus far, identifying principles for reforming our financial 
and regulatory systems, launching a specific action plan to implement 
those principles, and reaffirming our conviction that free market 
principles offer the surest path to lasting prosperity.
    As we pursue these objectives, we can build on what we have achieved 
together so far. Since the outbreak of the crisis, the world's leading 
nations have coordinated our actions more closely than ever before. 
Thanks in large part to these decisive measures, global credit markets 
are beginning to thaw. Businesses around the world are regaining access 
to essential short-term financing, and stability is beginning to return 
to the international financial system. This problem did not develop 
overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. But with continued 
cooperation and determination, it will be solved.
    There is more work to do beyond the immediate crisis, and the stakes 
are indeed high. Billions of hard-working people are counting on us to 
strengthen our financial systems for the long term. Families need credit 
to buy homes and to fund education. Businesses need capital to expand 
their operations so they can hire new employees. Older workers are 
counting on pensions and retirement funds to support them in

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their retirement years. Developing nations need the assistance they have 
been promised, as well as additional foreign investment, to continue 
their journey from poverty to promise. All over the world, people 
understand that their livelihoods depend upon a healthy and growing 
global economy.
    The surest path to that growth is to continue policies of free and 
open markets. Free market capitalism has been an engine of prosperity, 
progress, and social mobility in economies all over the globe. Trade and 
investment have been--have linked our economies together, creating new 
customers for businesses and workers and greater choices and lower 
prices for consumers. All our nations must reject calls for 
protectionism, collectivism, and defeatism in the face of our current 
challenge.
    I thank you all for coming and for your commitment to this urgent 
work. And with confidence in the success of our efforts, I offer a toast 
to all of you, to the principles we share, and to the people we serve.

Note: The President spoke at 7:29 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Jan Peter 
Balkenende of the Netherlands.