[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 23 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Pages 807-808]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Departure for Kranj, Slovenia

June 9, 2008

    Good morning. I'm just about to leave for Europe. I'm looking 
forward to my trip. I'm looking forward to meeting with our friends and 
allies. We've got strong relations in Europe, and this trip will help 
solidify those relations. And we got a lot to talk about.
    First, I'm looking forward to talking about the freedom agenda with 
the European nations. You know, we've got a lot of work to do in 
Afghanistan. And the countries I'm going to have committed troops to 
Afghanistan, and of course, I want to thank them and remind them there's 
a lot of work to be done.
    I talked to Laura yesterday, who, as you now know, took a trip to 
Afghanistan. I want to thank her for going. She gave me a good 
assessment about what she saw. She saw progress, but she also saw there 
needs to be a lot of work to be done--there's a lot of work to be done. 
And so she's going to go

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to the Paris conference, along with Secretary Rice, on our behalf to ask 
nations to contribute to the development of Afghanistan, which will mean 
they'll be contributing to peace.
    And then, of course, we'll be talking about the economy. A lot of 
Americans are concerned about our economy. I can understand why. 
Gasoline prices are high; energy prices are high. I do remind them that 
we have put a stimulus package forward that is expected to help boost 
the economy. Of course, we'll be monitoring the situation.
    I will remind our friends and allies overseas that we're all too 
dependent on hydrocarbons, and we must work to advance technologies to 
help us become less dependent on hydrocarbons. I'll also remind them, 
though, that the United States has an opportunity to help increase the 
supply of oil on the market, therefore, taking pressure off gasoline for 
hard-working Americans. And that I've proposed to the Congress that they 
open up ANWR, open up the Continental Shelf, and give this country a 
chance to help us through this difficult period by finding more supplies 
of crude oil, which will take the pressure off the price of gasoline.
    These are global issues we'll be discussing. Secretary Paulson will 
be also discussing issues at the G-8--the G-8 ministers in Japan this 
week.
    As well, I'll talk about our Nation's commitment to a strong dollar. 
A strong dollar is in our Nation's interests. It is in the interests of 
the global economy. Our economy is large, and it's open and flexible. 
Our capital markets are some of the deepest and most liquid. And the 
long-term health and strong foundation of our economy will shine through 
and be reflected in currency values.
    U.S. economy has continued to grow in the face of unprecedented 
challenges. We got to keep our economies flexible. Both the U.S. economy 
and European economies need to be flexible in order to deal with today's 
challenges.
    I'm looking forward to my trip, and I'm looking forward to seeing 
Laura. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 6:55 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House.