[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 9 (Monday, March 7, 1994)]
[Pages 396-398]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Welcoming Prime Minister John Major of the United Kingdom  in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

February 28, 1994

    Thank you very much, Senator Wofford, Congressman Coyne, Mayor 
Murphy, Commissioners Foerster and Flaherty, and my friends. I'm glad to 
be back in Pittsburgh. I want to thank the band for their wonderful 
music and the Scouts for your fine salute and

[[Page 397]]

your fine work, thank you. And I want you to join me in welcoming Prime 
Minister John Major back to the United States of America.
    It's funny how this trip came about. Last July in Tokyo of all 
places, John Major and I were sitting around at night talking, and he 
said, ``You know, my grandfather worked in the steel mills in 
Pittsburgh, and my father lived and worked here a while in the late 
1800's before moving back to England.'' So I thought the next time John 
Major came to the United States, he ought to see America and come to 
Pittsburgh.
    I want to emphasize to all of you here in the heartland of America 
how important the relationship between the United States and Great 
Britain is. We worked together to support reform in the aftermath of the 
fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war, in Russia and in 
all those other former Communist states, to try to give democracy a 
chance. We worked together for a new world trade agreement to bring down 
trade barriers and open world markets to the products that American 
workers make. We worked together to make NATO stronger and more 
adaptable, to reach out to all those nations in the former Communist 
world and give them a chance to work with us to unify Europe in peace 
and democracy, in ways that will make America a safer and more 
prosperous place for decades to come. We're working together today to 
respond to the terrible tragedy in Bosnia, to try to bring an end to the 
killing and to bring peace and to keep that conflict from spreading in 
ways that could threaten the interests of the United States and Great 
Britain as well as the conscience of the civilized world.
    And we do have a great partnership, as Senator Wofford noted, right 
here in Pittsburgh between British Air and USAir. It's been a good thing 
for the people of this town. Tomorrow we'll have a chance to talk about 
that and talk about some of the other tough issues that we face--the 
state of reform in Russia. The Prime Minister and I have both been in 
Moscow in the last couple of months. A struggle over the future of 
reform in Russia is underway. We have a vital stake in the outcome. We 
have to continue to encourage democracy, respect for neighbors, and real 
economic reform in that country. It's in your interest and mine.
    We also hope we can continue to press for peace in Bosnia. Britain 
is the second largest contributor to the United Nations troop effort in 
Bosnia, and over the last year, I want to say to all of you that the 
British have saved thousands of innocent civilians' lives there by their 
presence. We intend to continue working with them until we get a just 
and fair peace in Bosnia.
    We're going to discuss what we want to do with NATO. We're going to 
discuss the political courage and the vision shown by Prime Minister 
Major and Prime Minister Reynolds of Ireland in working toward peace in 
Northern Ireland together. Their historic joint declaration offers new 
hope for that goal of peace. And as the President of this country, a 
country full of Americans of British descent and full of Americans of 
Irish descent, I again urge an end to the use of violence as a means of 
solving political problems and achieving political aims. It has no place 
in that effort.
    The next time I see John Major after this trip, I'll be visiting 
Britain in June to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-day and to 
affirm for a new generation of Britons and Americans the importance of 
our enduring partnership. We must continue to build on it, economically, 
politically, strategically. We have benefited immensely from our ties to 
Britain, and they have benefited from their ties to us. We are working 
together in ways that I think will benefit the children in this 
audience. The agreement on world trade concluded at the end of last year 
is perhaps the most concrete recent example of what we are trying to do 
for future generations.
    In the months and years ahead, we'll have to continue to work on our 
issues of common concern. Not very long from now, we're going to have a 
jobs conference with Great Britain and other European powers in Detroit 
to discuss the difficulties that the United States and all the powers of 
Europe and Japan are all having creating new jobs in this difficult 
global environment and what things we can learn from each other to 
create more opportunities for all of our people.

[[Page 398]]

    Well, now I'm going to introduce the Prime Minister and say, after 
he speaks, we're going to look around Pittsburgh.
    When John Major's grandfather and father were here, this city was 
the heart of America's industrial might. Today it's the center of its 
high technology and economic innovation. It's a city of the future as 
well as a city with a past. And so in the spirit of renewal that is the 
story of Pittsburgh today, I ask you to join me in reaffirming the bonds 
between the American and the British people in welcoming to the 
microphone the Prime Minister of Great Britain, John Major.

Note: The President spoke at 5:44 p.m. at the Air Force Reserve base at 
Pittsburgh International Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor 
Tom Murphy of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Commissioners Tom Foerster 
and Pete Flaherty.