[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 48 (Monday, December 4, 2006)]
[Pages 2098-2099]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of 
Latvia in Riga, Latvia

November 28, 2006

    President Vike-Freiberga. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's been a 
great pleasure to have the President of the United States here in Riga 
for the second time in less than 2 years. And I expressed how delighted 
we are to be receiving him and his delegation here on the occasion of 
the Riga 2006 summit.
    The United States has been our strong supporter all those years when 
Latvia was not free, has been our supporter after we regained our 
independence, and I'm most grateful to the United States for the 
understanding and support we got in our direction and our movement 
towards NATO. Now that we are fully members, Latvians certainly sleep 
better at night knowing that they are protected by an alliance that will 
spare them the sorts of experiences they had in earlier years.
    But of course I'm delighted to be welcoming the President of the 
United States as the representative of what still remains as a shining 
example of the free world, of the sort of success one can achieve in a 
country

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that has been working at its democracy for a long time, that keeps 
perfecting it. I would hope that Latvia, as well, has the same 
opportunities; that we can go ahead, have our own choices, make our own 
mistakes, and do so with the help and understanding and support of 
fellow nations who share the same values as us.

    President Bush. Madam President, thanks for inviting me back to 
Riga. Our experience was so good the first time that we couldn't wait to 
get back. I want to congratulate you on hosting this very important NATO 
summit. You and your Government have done a spectacular job, and I want 
to thank the people of Riga for accommodating all the world leaders who 
have come to this important meeting.

    I appreciate very much your strong belief that liberty has got the 
capacity to transform the world for the good. I thank you and the 
Latvian people for supporting young democracies in Afghanistan and in 
Iraq.

    We spent time talking about our bilateral relations. Trade is good 
between the United States and Latvia, and that's very positive. The 
President brought up the visa waiver program. She is deeply concerned 
that the people of Latvia aren't able to travel to the United States as 
freely as she would like. And I fully understand your concerns, Madam 
President. And to this end, I'll be sending to Congress a new proposal 
to make it easier for the citizens of Latvia to come to the United 
States and, at the same time, for us to share information to make sure 
that we're able to thwart any type of terrorist activities in our 
country. And I'm confident we can work this through.

    And I want to thank you for working hard on this issue. Every time 
I've met with you, you brought it up, because you deeply care about the 
people of your country. I want to congratulate you on your strong 
leadership, and again, thank you for your very warm hospitality.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 3:40 p.m. at Riga Castle. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.