[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 26 (Monday, June 30, 1997)]
[Page 922]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Opening of the First Working Session of the Summit of the 
Eight in Denver

June 21, 1997

    I'm very pleased to welcome my fellow leaders to Denver as we open 
this Summit of the Eight. And I want to say a special welcome to our 
friend President Yeltsin, who joins us for the first time from the 
beginning to the end of this meeting. Russia's growing role in the 
shared world of market democracies reflects the progress and the 
potential of this age.
    We meet at a moment of remarkable possibility for our nations and 
for the world. Powerful forces are drawing our nations closer together, 
delivering the promise of prosperity and security to more people than 
ever, changes that, like this, bring vast opportunities as we approach 
the new century, but we also know they bring new challenges. Our 
citizens must have the skills they need to succeed in a fast-changing 
economy. And as barriers fall, problems that start in one country can 
spread quickly to another, whether they are currency crises, organized 
crime, or outbreaks of deadly diseases.
    Our challenge in this moment of peace and stability is to organize 
ourselves for the future, to make change work for us, not against us. We 
must seize the opportunities of the global economy to expand our own 
prosperity, bring in other nations that want to share in its benefits, 
and work together to meet the new threats. None of our nations can meet 
these challenges alone, and more than ever our summit process is an 
engine of common progress.
    Over the next 2 days, we'll discuss the best ways to deepen and 
extend the benefits of the 21st century marketplace, to help our 
societies thrive as our populations grow older, to strengthen further 
the stability of the world financial system, to generate economic growth 
throughout the world. We'll continue our efforts to bring new partners 
in Africa and elsewhere into the community of market democracies. And 
we'll strengthen our growing cooperation to meet threats to our common 
security, such as our rapid response network to fight nuclear smuggling, 
common endeavors to combat terrorism, and initiatives to stem infectious 
disease, including the search for an AIDS vaccine.
    It is fitting that we meet in a public library, a place where people 
come together to learn and share ideas without regard to their own 
backgrounds. If we pool our strength, we can achieve great things for 
all our people and the world. I look forward to addressing those 
challenges with my fellow leaders over the next few days, and again, I 
welcome them to Denver.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 9:10 a.m. at the Denver Public Library. In 
his remarks, he referred to President Boris Yeltsin of Russia.