    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 22 (Monday, June 5, 2000)]
    [Pages 1246-1247]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at an Arrival Ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal

    May 30, 2000

        Mr. President, Mrs. Sampaio, Mr. Prime Minister, members of the
    Portuguese Government, citizens of Portugal. Here at this historic point
    of embarkation, from which Portuguese explorers led an entire continent
    to see beyond the horizon, we find ourselves again, as you said, Mr.
    President, on a new voyage of discovery.
        And at the dawn of a new century, Portugal again is leading the way,
    strengthening the European Union while preserving our transatlantic
    partnership, building peace in the Balkans, supporting democracy in
    Russia. Portugal has been a clear, strong voice for peace and stability
    throughout the world, and we have been proud to stand with you in
    responding to floods in Mozambique, in peacekeeping and humanitarian
    operations from Kosovo to Africa to East Timor.
        I thank Portugal, especially, for its constant commitment to East
    Timor's freedom. Just before the ceremony began today, the President
    told me that some of the troops who marched for us soon will be sent to
    join the peacekeeping mission in East Timor. I know that this nation is
    proud of those troops and their mission, and on behalf of the American
    people, I thank you for it.

    [[Page 1247]]

        The United States has always considered Portugal an especially good
    neighbor, thanks in no small part to the shared pride we both feel in
    the numbers, the character, and the accomplishment of Portuguese-
    Americans who have done so much to shape our Nation.
        I look forward to my meetings with the President and the Prime
    Minister. I want to learn more about new Portuguese initiatives on
    education, science, and technology. I applaud Portugal for the work it
    is doing to give all its people the tools they need to succeed in this
    global information age.
        I also look forward to the U.S.-EU Summit. I hope we will use these
    meetings not just to strengthen our own ties but to address challenges
    beyond our borders. Mr. President, you mentioned many of them, the AIDS
    epidemic in Africa and Asia, the economic gulfs separating the
    wealthiest from the rest of the world. These problems require
    innovation, imagination, and courage. Portugal's history is filled with
    those qualities, and I believe Portugal again will lead the way.
        When Vasco da Gama left here to explore Africa and India, he built
    on the previous experiences of Portuguese explorers like Bartholomeu
    Dias, the first European to go around the Cape of Good Hope. That
    beautiful promontory briefly had a different name. It was called Cabo
    das Tormentas, Stormy Cape, after the storms that gathered round it. But
    after further reflection, its name was changed to Cabo da Boa Esperanca,
    the Cape of Good Hope, to reflect the unbounded confidence with which
    Portugal faced the future.
        Well, we have a few stormy waters still to navigate. But we should
    do it with good hope, and we should do it together.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. at the Plaza of Torre de Belem.
    In his remarks, he referred to President Jorge Sampaio and his wife,
    Maria Jose Ritta, and Prime Minister Antonio Guterres of Portugal. The
    transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included
    the remarks of President Sampaio. A tape was not available for
    verification of the content of these remarks.