[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 36 (Monday, September 10, 2001)]
[Pages 1268-1269]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a State Dinner Honoring President Fox of Mexico

September 5, 2001

    It's my honor to offer a toast to the--our guests from Mexico. After 
I do so, President Fox will offer a toast, and then Cardinal Mahony of 
Los Angeles, California, will offer to bless the meal.
    Mr. President and Mrs. Fox, on behalf of the American people, Laura 
and I welcome

[[Page 1269]]

you to the United States and to the Casa Blanca. [Laughter]
    This is not only a state dinner; it's like a family gathering. The 
most important ties between your country and mine, Mr. President, go 
beyond economics and politics and geography. They are the ties of 
heritage, culture, and family. This is true for millions of Mexican and 
American families, including my own.
    The Mexican people have changed and enriched America. Together, our 
nations are now working to strengthen the Americas. A long border lies 
between us, but it does not divide us. Nearly one million people cross 
that border every day; a quarter-trillion dollars worth of trade crosses 
it every year. Because of the visionary NAFTA agreement of 1994, the 
trade between us crosses in ever greater freedom. That's a benefit to 
both our peoples and a model to the world.
    A sound foreign policy begins by ensuring the safety and security of 
the neighborhood we share. A good neighborhood is made by good 
neighbors. And good neighbors work as we are working, with shared 
obligations and mutual respect.
    Mr. President, you and I are keeping the pledges we made in 
Guanajuato this past winter to expand the freedom of trade, to build an 
equitable prosperity, and to honor the rule of law.
    We have before us a great prospect, an era of prosperity in a 
hemisphere of liberty. In this task, our cooperation is broad and 
unprecedented. Our sense of trust is strong, and it's growing.
    A century and a half ago, another occupant of this house, Abraham 
Lincoln, paused in the darkest hour of this country's history to send a 
word of hope to Mexico. Lincoln knew how closely the fates of our two 
countries were linked. And he never lost faith in the character of our 
two people. In April of 1861, he directed his Secretary of State to tell 
Mexico of his high respect for the heroism of their people, and above 
all, their inextinguishable love of civil liberty.
    My message to the Mexican people is the same. The respect of my 
Nation endures, and it deepens. The United States has no more important 
relationship in the world than our relationship with Mexico. Each of our 
countries is proud of our independence, our freedom, and our democracy. 
We are united by values and carried forward by common hopes.
    And so, Mr. President, speaking friend to friend, partner to 
partner, neighbor to neighbor, I offer a toast to you, to your gracious 
wife, and to your great nation.

Note: The President spoke at 8:30 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Cardinal Roger Mahony, 
Archbishop of Los Angeles; and Martha Sahagun de Fox, wife of President 
Fox. The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also 
included the remarks of President Fox.