[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 16 (Monday, April 28, 2008)]
[Pages 560-562]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Discussion With President Felipe de Jesus Calderon 
Hinojosa of Mexico in New Orleans

April 21, 2008

    President Bush. Mr. President, thank you very much. We just had a 
very long and really good discussion on a variety of issues. U.S.-
Mexican relations are very important, and sometimes we in America take 
those relations for granted. But we share a large border; we share the 
same values. We've got people on both sides of the border who've got 
friends and family members. And it is fitting that you and I have this 
kind of conversation.
    I want to congratulate you and thank you for your strong leadership. 
I appreciate the fact that you inherited a very difficult situation. 
One, you inherited, you know, high demand for drugs in the United 
States. In other words, people are using drugs, and therefore, people 
are supplying drugs. And it's caused difficult security problems in your 
country, and you've responded aggressively. And I think it's in our 
interests that we fund the joint initiative. We got to work hard on our 
side to make sure that we reduce our drug use and, at the same time, 
work with you in the close coordination to defeat these drug 
traffickers.
    We need to do--continue our initiative that we started with--during 
your administration, Mr. President, on dealing with arms trafficking--
arms coming from the United States into Mexico. We've got a strategy in 
place, and we're now beginning to implement it. Congress has a chance to 
send a strong statement that we want to work in a collaborative fashion 
with the money that's going to be in the supplemental. My hope, of 
course, is they fully fund the program, and they fund it--a strategy 
that will be effective.
    We talked about trade and how trade has been beneficial to both our 
countries. When you and I grew up in our respective countries, the 
border region of Mexico and the United States was very poor. And today, 
when you go down there, there's prosperity on both sides of the border. 
A lot of that has to do with trade. Our trade has tripled, and our 
economies have grown. And this has been a very positive aspect for both 
our countries. And so we're going to talk about that, of course, with 
the Canadian Prime Minister in our dinner tonight.
    But we also talked about the need to have a successful Doha round. 
We talked about climate change. We talked about a lot of issues and--but 
that's what you expect friends to do. So I welcome you.

[At this point, President Calderon spoke in Spanish, and it was 
translated as follows below.]

    Interpreter. [Inaudible]

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    President Bush. I understood every word. [Laughter]
    Interpreter. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you so much 
for your hospitality and for very long and productive discussion we had 
today. As is fitting for the relationship that Mexico and the United 
States enjoy, we have been able to discuss a long list of issues today, 
because we have a very complex and rich relationship.
    We talked first of all, as President Bush said, about security. We 
talked about security along our common border. We talked about the 
common strategies that we are implementing in order to fight the double 
scourge of organized crimes and drug trafficking.
    President Calderon. The common enemy.
    Interpreter. Common enemy--thank you, Mr. President.

[The interpreter continued to translate President Calderon's remarks as 
follows.]

    Interpreter. We discussed the Merida Initiative, a very important 
initiative that will allow a common strategy that will benefit families 
on both sides--on the side of Mexico and on the side of the United 
States.
    I also want to express my appreciation for the work the U.S. 
Government has begun on the problem of arms trafficking. We know that 
this is a complex issue. We know there is much to be done, but a very 
important first step has already been made in that direction.
    We also discussed the defense of the Mexican administration, of the 
rights of our Mexican citizens. And we have also discussed the issue of 
trade and how trade is benefiting both of our peoples. And we have 
discussed the issue of trade and its benefits. I think that I have made 
it very clear that as far as I'm concerned, trade is an issue that 
benefits both sides greatly. It is something that generates jobs both on 
the U.S. side and on the side of Mexico. We have seen an enormous 
increase in benefits for consumers as a result of trade as well. We see 
that the quality of products in general has gone up as a result of 
increased trade.
    And I stress this issue because recently NAFTA has come under 
criticism, and I do not believe that people are realizing how many 
benefits NAFTA has brought both to the United States and to Mexico. I 
can say that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created on both 
sides of the border. As far as Mexico is concerned, this increase in 
jobs has also led to a direct decrease in the amount of immigration from 
Mexico to the United States. It has generated growth; it has generated 
jobs; and it is decreasing the flow of immigration.
    And we have discussed the defense of the rights of Mexican citizens 
and the need to increase the way we watch over those rights. This is a 
very important issue for my administration. We need to continue working 
on an agenda to find a comprehensive solution for that. I understand 
that the United States is going through an electoral process, and we 
respect that process, of course. But I do want to point out that it's 
very important for my administration--for us to find a solution to this 
issue, and a solution that will not just find a way to deal with the 
immigration problem but one that will do so with respect and 
responsibility.
    We also discussed the concern that we have with regard to the 
increase of prices of foods around the world and the public policies 
that are involved in finding alternative fuels and how all of this goes 
into the mix. We need to face the problem of economies all around the 
world who have not been able to deal with this problem very well. In 
Mexico, we have been able to find solutions, but we are concerned about 
the situation of other countries in Latin America that are not faring 
quite as well.
    And finally, I simply want to say how happy I am to be in the United 
States. And I don't want to get ahead of myself, but tonight I will be 
extending an invitation, hopefully, to the next President of the United 
States to visit us in Mexico next year for this event. And of course, 
President Bush will always be a welcome visitor in Mexico.
    President Calderon. Thank you.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.

Note: The President spoke at 2:40 p.m. at the Windsor Court Hotel. In 
his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada. The 
Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of these remarks.

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