[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.