[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 46 (Monday, November 20, 2006)]
[Pages 2060-2061]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Dinner Hosted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of 
Singapore in Singapore

November 16, 2006

    President Bush. Thank you all. Mr. Prime Minister and Ms. Lee, thank 
you very much for your gracious hospitality. Laura and I are thrilled to 
be back here. I'm always amazed when I think about Singapore, a country 
that wasn't supposed to be; a part of the world where people basically 
said, ``There's no chance for the good folks to survive and thrive.'' 
I'm amazed at your successes, and I appreciate the values on which your 
successes rest.
    I congratulate the people of Singapore for being such a vivid 
example of enterprise and markets and hard work. I congratulate the 
Government for being visionary in its leadership. And I am thrilled that 
you allowed me to give a speech at one of your fine universities, 
talking about the importance of the Far East to the future of the United 
States.
    I thank you very much for serving that meat. [Laughter] It was so 
good, it had to be from Texas. [Laughter]
    The Prime Minister and I have had a lot of discussions about a 
variety of issues, and I shared with them one of my chief concerns, that 
our country would become--could possibly become isolationist and 
protectionist. In my speech today to the university, Mr. Prime Minister, 
I assured the listeners that it is in our interest to remain engaged in 
the world. It's in our economic interests and it's in our national 
interests that the United States work

[[Page 2061]]

with strong friends and allies such as Singapore to spread prosperity 
and hope and to work to lay the foundations for peace.
    Mr. Prime Minister, I appreciate your clear vision of the threats 
that we face. I appreciate the fact that you see the ideological 
struggle before us. I cannot think of a more steadfast leader in you, 
and your willingness to make the hard steps necessary to deal with this 
challenge today so that our children won't have to deal with it in more 
severe terms tomorrow.
    I'm proud to call you friend. Laura and I are proud to be in your 
presence. May God bless you and your important country.
    Prime Minister Lee. Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 8:26 p.m. at the Istana. In 
his remarks, he referred to Ho Ching, wife of Prime Minister Lee. The 
transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included 
the remarks of Prime Minister Lee. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.