[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 14 (Monday, April 8, 1996)]
[Pages 596-597]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Welcoming President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro of Italy

April 2, 1996

    President Scalfaro, Mariana Scalfaro, members of the Italian 
delegation, distinguished guests: On behalf of the American people, I am 
delighted to welcome President Scalfaro to the United States. It is an 
honor to return the gracious hospitality the people of Italy showed to 
Hillary and me in Rome and Naples in 1994.
    America and Italy are joined by friendship, family, and values. Our 
Founding Fathers drew inspiration from the thinkers of ancient Rome to 
build a new republic based on laws and rooted in liberty and justice.
    Thomas Jefferson was moved by the ideas of his friend Filippo Mazzei 
to write the immortal phrase, ``All men are created equal.'' Constantino 
Brumidi, an artist from Rome, labored for 25 years on the frescoes that 
adorn our Nation's Capital. Generations of Italian-Americans have 
contributed beyond measure to America's greatness, enriching our 
Nation's character with their spirit and the strength of their heritage.
    America and Italy stood together for half a century to safeguard 
Europe's freedom and advance our common ideals. Now with the

[[Page 597]]

end of the cold war, the United States looks to Italy as a valued 
partner more than ever, from keeping the peace in troubled regions to 
building an undivided Europe.
    Earlier this year, I visited Aviano Air Base where the United States 
and Italy work together to contain the conflict in Bosnia and provide a 
lifeline to the Bosnian people. Now we are joined in a common support of 
the peace that is taking hold in Bosnia. I know I speak for all 
Americans when I thank the people of Italy, its leaders, its troops, and 
its citizens for the enormous effort they have made to bring peace to 
the people of Bosnia.
    I also thank Italy for its support for our common efforts to achieve 
peace in the Middle East and for its role in the recent conference at 
Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt.
    Italy and the United States stand together as well in the fight 
against the forces of hatred and violence, the organized criminals, the 
drug traffickers, the terrorists who have brought pain and destruction 
to Italians and Americans alike.
    Mr. President, the bonds between our people stretch across the 
centuries. They extend from the hearts of our neighborhoods to the 
distant reaches of the heavens where America and Italy now are 
cooperating on the international space station. As I said in Rome, and I 
say again, we, Italians and Americans, are now and forever alleati, 
amici, una famiglia--allies, friends, a family.
    Welcome to the White House. Welcome to America.

Note: The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House.