[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 28 (Monday, July 17, 2006)]
[Pages 1326-1327]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Welcoming Ceremony in Stralsund, Germany

July 13, 2006

    Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. Mr. President, Mrs. Bush, 
Minister President, Lord Mayor, ladies and gentlemen, citizens of 
Stralsund, let me say that I am delighted to be able to welcome you on 
behalf of the representatives of the land and also of the city. I'm 
delighted to welcome most warmly the President of the United States of 
America. Mr. President, a very, very warm welcome to you.
    Mr. President, I'm delighted to be able to welcome you here in this 
part of our country that I can truly call my political home, the 
Hanseatic City of Stralsund. Stralsund was part of the League of 
Hanseatic Cities--that is to say, it is imbued with a spirit of openness 
to the rest of the world. And in 1989, it was also one of the many 
cities where, on Monday, demonstrations took place, where people went 
out into the streets to demand freedom, to demonstrate for freedom. And 
we're happy to say in these days it is part of the land of Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern and also part of the Federal Republic of Germany.
    And I think that this is a very good opportunity, indeed, to say a 
word of thanks. Thank you for the contribution, for the support that we 
have enjoyed throughout from the people

[[Page 1327]]

of the United States of America, from the American Government, to help 
us along the way towards German unification. I think we owe you a big 
debt of gratitude for being able to finally live within one country in 
peace and freedom; one country--Germany.
    I think one can safely say that ever since we were able to achieve 
German unity, a lot has happened and indeed, Stralsund is a case in 
point. If you look at the fact that when the GDR finally collapsed, you 
had about 600 monuments here of historic importance in the city itself 
that were slowly decaying, that were slowly in ruins, and part of them 
have been restored over time. But there are still quite a lot of 
problems that remain to be solved. One of them, obviously, is the fairly 
high unemployment in this particular part of the country. They urgently 
need economic progress, an economic upturn. And this is why I am also 
delighted to have you here, to show you here in my constituency what it 
means when people try to take their own fate, their own future into 
their own hands and try to turn it to something positive--they are 
willing to work for the future of the city, for the future of this 
region.
    And I think it also clearly illustrates what we can do together in 
order to confront the international dangers, the threats at the 
international level that are common to us all, and that we can do in 
order to, together, work for peace and freedom for our two countries.
    Yet again, a very, very warm welcome to you, Mr. President.
    President Bush. Thank you all. Thank you, Chancellor Merkel. Thank 
you all for coming. Laura and I feel welcome here in Stralsund. To the 
Mayor and Minister President and the people of this beautiful town, we 
say, guten morgen.
    For decades, the German people were separated by an ugly wall. Here 
in the East, millions of you lived in darkness and tyranny. Today, your 
nation is whole again. The German people are at the center of Europe 
that is united and free and peaceful.
    You've given Germany a fine Chancellor in Angela Merkel, who I'm 
proud to call friend. The American people and the German people see the 
same qualities of character in your nation's leader. We see a bold 
vision and a humble heart. We see that she's willing to make hard 
decisions and eager to build strong partnerships. And like many others 
in the international community, I respect her judgment and I value her 
opinion.
    It's such an honor to be in her constituency. When I met with her in 
the Oval Office, she said, ``When you come to Germany, you need to come 
to one of the best parts of Germany.'' She didn't predict the weather. 
[Laughter] But I want to thank the Mayor for delivering such a beautiful 
day. And she forgot to tell me I was going to get some herring, and I 
thank you for that gift.
    I bring a message from the American people: We're honored to call 
the German people friends and allies. We share common values and common 
interests. We want to work together to keep the peace. We want to work 
together to promote freedom. There's so much that we can do, working 
together, and that's part of my visit today, is to pledge to you and the 
Chancellor: America and Germany stand side by side.
    Thank you for your warm welcome. May God bless you all. Thank you 
very much.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 9:55 a.m. in Stralsund Market 
Square. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Harald Lastovka of 
Stralsund, Germany; and Minister President Harald Ringstorff of 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Chancellor Merkel spoke in German, and her 
remarks were translated by an interpreter.