[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 23 (Monday, June 11, 2007)]
[Page 759]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany 
in Heiligendamm

June 6, 2007

    Chancellor Merkel. Ladies and gentlemen, this was our first meeting 
here during the G-8 meeting with the President of the United States of 
America. And we wanted to use this meeting in order to prepare the 
agenda of all of the issues that we're going to discuss here during the 
summit meeting. And it was a very satisfactory meeting, indeed, although 
in some areas there remain a few things here and there that we still 
need to discuss.
    But what we would like to see coming out from this G-8 summit is, we 
would like to send a signal as to how we wish to shape globalization in 
the sense that we would like to give it a human face; we would like to 
shape it for human beings. We want to combat poverty. We want to ensure 
the freedom of investments. We want to also see to it that globalization 
respects the social dimension. We want to work on world trade issues. 
And there are a number of international conflicts that we wish to 
concentrate on and that we hope we will together be able to contain.
    There are two priority issues that loom large on the agenda and 
could be seen and be also in the preparatory phase leading up to this 
meeting. The first one is climate change, and the second one, combating 
poverty in Africa. And on these two issues, we just had a very intensive 
and a very good conversation, a very good debate. As I said, there are 
few areas here and there we will continue to work on, but I trust that 
we will work out joint positions on that.
    So let me say yet again, I do hope and trust that a very strong 
message will come out of this summit meeting, and we started here on a 
very good footing, indeed.
    President Bush. Angela, thank you for your hospitality. You picked a 
beautiful site.
    I'm appreciative of your leadership. I think that when people take 
an objective look at what's been accomplished here, people see that 
there's been major progress made on key issues. I come with a deep 
desire to make sure that those suffering from HIV/AIDS on the continent 
of Africa know that they'll get help from the G-8. I come with a deep 
desire to work with people around the table to reduce malaria on the 
continent of Africa and feed the hungry--I know you share that desire as 
well. Thank you for your leadership.
    I also come with a strong desire to work with you on a post-Kyoto 
agreement about how we can achieve major objectives. One, of course, is 
the reduction of greenhouse gases. Another is to become more energy 
independent--in our case, from crude oil from parts of the world where 
we've got some friends and sometimes we don't have friends. We have a 
good chance to share our technologies with the developing world to make 
sure that we're good stewards of the environment. And I thank you for 
your leadership on this issue, and I'm looking forward to working with 
our fellow G-8 members.
    It's good to be back in this part of the world. I know it takes a 
lot of hard work to put on one of these G-8s, and your team has done a 
fine job. Glad to be with you.
    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 
2:25 p.m. at the Kempinski Grand Hotel Heiligendamm. Chancellor Merkel 
spoke in German, and her remarks were translated by an interpreter. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.